Once and Future Queen
by anthfan
Summary: Former 'Tropes#6: the baby trope'. Post season 1. When Tommy Merlyn's child shows up at the doorstep of Verdant abandoned by her mother, Oliver and Felicity agree to pose as her parents. In the process of raising Tommy's daughter, they grow closer to each other.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the former Trope#6: the baby trope. After, overwhelming demand I've decided to turn this into a multi-chapter fic of it's own. The first chapter is just a repost of the chapter from Tropes. Chapter 2, will be the first new chapter to this story. **

**Clearly, begging and pleading is a successful approach to getting your way. Hope you're all pleased with yourselves. :) **

**Enjoy, and let me know what you think! **

Felicity had only been home for a few hours when the text alert on her phone went off; repeatedly. It was Oliver, and all it said was for her to get back to the lair asap.

With wild thoughts she threw on leggings and an old sweatshirt from college before she scooped up her bag and phone and headed out the door. There was no active mission she was aware of. Digg had left early for a long weekend with Carly, and Oliver had promised he would be going home as well. She hadn't even planned on going into the lair for at least twenty-four hours.

Thankfully the streets were practically deserted and the lights were in her favor. As she clattered down the steel stairs her heart was in her throat.

"Oliver," she called out before going around the corner, "What's wrong?"

When she saw him she came to a halt. He stood in front of her, bare chested, holding a wailing, squirming blanket covered entity.

He looked petrified.

"Wha...what is that?" she stuttered.

"It's a baby." he said harshly, which only made the bundle in his arms cry louder.

"I can see that, but where did it come from and why do you...oh god..." her hand came up to cover her mouth as the realization that it was Oliver's child washed over her. Why had her stomach just dropped like she'd stepped off a cliff?

His eyes narrowed and he gestured towards the car seat she now noticed sitting on the desk by the computers. "Read the note." he directed, moving slowly and haltingly out of the way. She'd never seen him so nervous and unsure before.

With shaking hands she approached them. A folded piece of paper lay atop the seat, which was piled high with blankets, a bottle, and what appeared to be Oliver's shirt with a very noticeable stain on it.

The letter was typed, on standard printer paper, with no distinguishing marks.

_Tommy, _

_ You probably don't remember me. It was one night. You were sad, and I was there. I don't regret what we did or what we made, but I lost everything in the quake. I got out of Starling City, but I can't start a new life with her. It's just too hard. You and your family can give her everything she needs. Please take care of her. _

It was unsigned. And no matter how many times she flipped the paper from front to back nothing new appeared to tell her who had sent it.

Tommy's baby. Not Oliver's.

She raised already wet eyes to see him standing there, barely aware of what he held. He was so close to the edge she could see him teetering. He'd been doing so well since he'd come back. But this...this had the ability to send him running again.

Before she knew what was happening he was shoving the baby in her arms, blanket and all.

"Oliver!" she choked out, her hands coming up automatically to hold the slight weight to her chest, "I don't..."

"Please." he said raggedly, "Just...I need a minute, okay."

"Okay," she answered. How could she say no to him just then.

He disappeared like a ghost into the training room, door shutting firmly behind him.

The baby continued to cry, and finally Felicity focused on her.

Enough of the blanket had fallen away that she could make out a scrunched up red face, and dark hair. She had no idea how old she was, but she looked very young. Maybe a month old.

Felicity had no experience with children. She'd spent her childhood rebuilding computers and watching the Discovery channel, not babysitting.

But the baby wasn't stopping, and they had to do something to quiet her down. Hesitantly she moved a few steps and sat in her chair. When she felt secure she slowly released one of her arms and let her bag finally slip off her shoulder.

"Hi...um...well, your mom didn't tell us your name. Maybe you don't have one. I don't know. I don't know anything about babies. Nothing. But I do know about the internet and I'm certain we can find out what we need there, okay. But I'm going to need for you to be patient with me. And with the big guy. He's kind of a mess right now. A lot like you, but for different reasons. I guess he's kind of like your uncle, so you're stuck with him. And I'm stuck with him too, so that means you're stuck with me. So we'd better figure this out."

The baby had quieted down some, now only whimpering slightly as she twisted her head back and forth. Felicity typed using one hand and pulled up the first site she could find that would give her information about babies.

In the next ten minutes she felt she'd at least skimmed the basics. If she was crying she was hungry, needed to be changed, or was tired. Those seemed like simple enough requests. But she was going to need some help.

She adjusted her hold, placing the baby's head on her shoulder so her little body laid lengthways, one hand under her butt, the other cupped behind her head.

The baby seemed to like this and let out a little sigh before finally falling silent.

"You look like a pro." Oliver said behind her. Felicity turned slowly in her chair to face him. He'd found another shirt, and stood a few feet away, arms crossed, watching them.

"Not hardly. But the internet is a wealth of information." she said quickly. His eyes were haunted, and he kept looking everywhere but at the baby.

"Yeah, but..." he waved a hand her direction and anger flashed through her as she realized what he was implying.

"You think because I have the...correct equipment to make one of these I magically know how to take care of them?" she asked incredulously. "I watched the neighbor's toddler once when I was ten. It was a horrible experience, and one I wish to never speak of again. You're the one with the sibling. You must remember stuff from when Thea was a baby."

He just shook his head. "No. There was a nanny, and I was seven. I remember looking at her now and then but...nothing more."

"What about Digg!" she said suddenly, "He has a nephew."

"I don't want to bother him with..." he cut himself off, but she knew he was going to say he didn't want to bother Digg with his problems. Oliver had already assumed responsibility for the baby whether he realized it or not. It went unnoticed by both of them that Oliver hadn't hesitated in calling her though.

"Okay," she said gently, knowing she was going to have to walk a fine line with him just then.

"Where was she?" Felicity asked,

"Next to the back door." he bit out, and she gasped in disbelief.

"But...what if she hadn't been found? What if...She could have been there all night! The note makes it sound like she didn't know that Tommy..." Felicity unconsciously held the baby tighter, a hand skimming over her hair.

"I know." Oliver ground out.

"Is there anything else in the bag?"

His shoulders lifted in response, "I haven't looked."

She lifted an eyebrow at him and then looked at the bag. He took the hint and pulled it towards him. There were several more blankets, a few outfits, and a small stack of diapers which looked absurdly tiny in his large hands. There was also a pouch that held an ice pack and two pre made bottles with another note.

"What does it say?" she asked nervously

He cleared his throat before he answered, "Just the name of the baby food she's been drinking." he'd obviously thought it was going to tell him something different.

"Formula." Felicity said immediately, "That's what she's drinking. It's called formula." at his confused expression she angled her head towards the screen. "I read about it. She should be eating every few hours and being changed that often too, and she probably won't sleep much. What with all the changing and eating..." she trailed off as Oliver's eyes seemed to glaze over.

A thought struck her and forced her to her feet. She walked towards him carefully, not wanting to disturb him or the baby who was now trying to smash her little face into Felicity's shoulder with surprising strength for something so small.

"Oliver," she said quietly, as she came to a stop in front of him. "Why haven't you called the police or taken her to a hospital?"

It had occurred to her that neither of them had done what would be expected. They had simply taken her on and started talking about feedings and looking up how to take care of her when they really had no claim on her.

He was so still she was worried he hadn't heard her.

"She's Tommy's." he said finally, the force behind his words almost making her step back.

She studied him carefully and tried to speak several times before she could get the words out, "But...Tommy's gone."

Oliver's eyes blazed with anger and pain and she wished nothing more than to be able to walk back what she'd said. "Which means she's my responsibility now!" he ground out.

Her eyes shut tight. She hurt for him. "I know you feel that way...but..." his head whipped towards her, daring her to finish. She swallowed heavily and continued. "But Oliver...this is a _baby_. Another human life. This isn't a bar tab, or a bookie that needs to be paid off. This is a commitment, a responsibility that I don't think you..."

"I understand, Felicity! Tommy died because I wasn't fast enough, because I wasn't good enough. Now his daughter doesn't have a father. I'm going to make this right." The look on his face was so intense she couldn't have looked away if she wanted to.

"And that's admirable, and even though I don't think you need to atone in that way, I respect that you feel like you do. But...think about what you're saying! How are you going to take on caring for an infant? How will this look to the public when you start carting around a car seat? How will you continue to be Green Arrow. Are we going to set up a nursery in the corner? Do you intend to be a father to this child, or just provide for her financially?" with every question she threw at him he flinched. She knew he hadn't thought any of it through, he was just reacting out of obligation and duty.

"You can't just make a decision like this without thinking about everything. And how do you suppose you'll be able to keep her? Do you think the Department of Child Services is just going to give you, Oliver Queen, custody of a baby?" as soon as the words were out of her mouth she gaped at him in shock. They'd never do that. He'd never be allowed to keep her. And there were no more Merlyn's left. She'd go into the system. She'd be lost.

In a few seconds Felicity saw all of that flash through his eyes.

"Felicity," he pleaded. He looked heartbroken and how could she tell him no. After everything he'd been through and everything he sacrificed.

"Okay..." she said shakily, "Okay...we'll figure it out."

The next thing she knew she was in his arms. Her and the baby, pressed into him. She felt his shaky exhale pass over her neck and shivered. When the baby let out a muffled squeak Felicity was struck with just exactly how domestic all of this was. It made her stomach flip, and her mind go places it shouldn't be going.

She was the one who stepped back, shifting the baby higher so her head was tucked under Felicity's chin.

"But Oliver...if we do this." she shut her eyes in almost disbelief that she was even considering such a thing, "If we do this...if we don't tell the police...then how are you going to explain her? If you of all people suddenly show up with a child...there are going to be questions. People are going to go digging."

"I know. Which is why you'll need to give her a new background." he said immediately.

She nodded slowly as she thought. Social security number, and a new birth date wouldn't be that difficult, she'd hacked more difficult servers. "There will need to be a birth certificate. That's the first thing they'll look up. If you want to put yourself down as the father we can do that, but...mother is the one thing that can't be left blank. I mean, I suppose we could just make up a random name, but then it would be necessary to create an entirely new identity for her too and that could become complicated..." she trailed off at the look in his eyes.

With a great gasp of air she knew. She knew what he was asking of her. Her mouth opened and shut but she couldn't say a word. The beginnings of a panic attack crept in, making her limbs numb and before anything could go wrong she handed him the baby.

It was her turn to run.

The baby was squalling now. "Felicity!" he called after her, but she didn't turn around.

"She probably needs to be changed." she choked out as she continued to head towards the back.

"I don't..." he started, but she whirled on him

"I don't either! Figure it out!" she pointed viciously towards the computer screen and disappeared through the door.

She didn't make it two feet before collapsing against the wall and sliding down to sit on the floor.

This was too much. She couldn't...she could not make up false documents that listed her as that child's mother, and Oliver her father. There was loyalty and then there was insanity, and this was definitely the latter.

She was committed to Oliver, committed to what they did, but...this was an entirely new level of commitment. And if she was being completely honest with herself, her feelings for Oliver had everything to do with it.

Not that this would have been easy if she hadn't been in love with him, but she was, she had been for awhile. Being tied to him like this in such an intimate way...how could she be expected to handle that. And she couldn't tell him. She couldn't admit that this would blur the lines between fantasy and reality so much one wouldn't be distinguishable from the other and that wasn't fair to either of them.

Because at some point he was going to fall for someone else, but in the eyes of the world he'd had a child with her. How would that affect them? Would she have to quit to protect his cover? Make the ultimate sacrifice and walk away from all of it? From him? From the baby? How was any of that fair?

But the other option wasn't really an option either. She knew he wasn't going to let this baby go. He was going to keep her. He was going to raise her the best he knew how. His absolution for Tommy's death finally had found a symbol, and right or wrong, Oliver was going to see it through.

So it seemed like her options were she could lose him now or lose him later. She let out a strangled half sob, half laugh at the thought and dropped her head into her hands.

Was she actually considering this? Was she actually going to falsify records for Tommy Merlyn's child that said she was the mother? Was she going to help Oliver care for this baby, because god knows he needed the help.

The night the Glades fell flashed through her mind and she winced and pressed her hands tight over her eyes. If she hadn't missed that second device Tommy would have lived. That baby would have her real father, and maybe every now and then he'd bring her by the club and Felicity would chuck her under the chin and laugh at Uncle Ollie's awkwardness in trying to hold her, but that would have been the extent of it. But she had failed. She'd failed the city, and she'd failed Tommy.

With a long exhale she wiped her eyes and pushed herself to her feet.

She'd be damned if she was going to fail his daughter.

Her own words floated back to her, something she had said to the baby not that long ago. She'd told her she was stuck with Oliver, and it was true. She'd tethered herself to him long ago, even when he was so far away she didn't know how he'd find his way back she'd waited. And he'd returned, a bit more broken, but she'd put him back together again. It's what she did.

So they'd do this. Damn the consequences, she'd see this through. She figured her life had stopped being her own the day he'd stepped into her office with a bullet riddled laptop, so this was just the natural progression of things.

When she stepped back into the main room on shaky legs she didn't expect to see him sitting in her chair, feeding the baby. The corner of her desk had been turned into a changing table and, although it looked like he'd gone through a few diapers, he seemed to have been successful.

"Hey," she said softly, not wanting to disturb either of them.

He looked up quickly, his eyes showing his apology. "Felicity," he began but she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok. You were right before. We owe her. Both of us. So...I'm in." she told him, but he was already shaking his head.

"No. It's too much. I had no right. I'll do it the legal way. I've got money and good lawyers. I can make a case."

"And you'll fail. And she'll be in the care of the city the entire time. And who is going to want to adopt a Merlyn? No one." her voice broke off as she leaned over him slightly, looking at her properly for the first time. "She's got his nose."

The bottle slipped from her bow lips as Oliver's hand went slack, but the baby had fallen asleep and hadn't noticed. Felicity reached out and took the bottle from his hand, sitting it on the desk before she kneeled beside him.

"Thank you." he said so softly she almost didn't hear him. She reached out slowly and stroked one finger over the back of the baby's tiny hand, gasping when she gripped it in her sleep.

"She's strong." Oliver said

"She'll have to be if she's joining Team Arrow." Felicity said, ignoring the tears she could feel slipping down her face.

Oliver's hand came to fall over the back of her neck, fingers stroking small circles against her bare skin. "Thank you," he said again.

All Felicity could do was nod. "We can do this right? We can keep her safe." Two hours ago she hadn't know this little person existed, and now she was claiming her.

"We'll keep her safe." Oliver vowed, his voice sure.

Felicity nodded, shifting in closer so she could stare at the sleeping baby, unconsciously pressing against his leg as she did.

"Oh, little Alice, what have you gotten yourself into?" she thought aloud

"Alice?" Oliver asked

Felicity startled some and looked up at him. "Sorry, it just sort of slipped out. You know, like Alice in Wonderland. She falls down the rabbit hole. This..." she looked around the lair for emphasis, "This is sort of like the rabbit hole. I didn't mean anything by it though..."

"She needs a name." he replied, "I kind of like Alice."

"What was Tommy's mother's name?" she asked suddenly

"Rebecca." Oliver answered immediately.

"Alice Rebecca...Queen." she said slowly, her eyes slipping from the baby to Oliver as the name settled within him.

His head fell back against the chair. She let her free hand land on his knee, giving him a squeeze of support.

"I'm doing the right thing, aren't I?" he asked after a long beat.

She took a stuttered breath before answering, "I think you're doing the only thing you can do." Whether that ended up being right or wrong remained to be seen.

They stayed like that until Alice stirred. Oliver showed Felicity how to change her diaper, and by the time she'd mastered it they were running dangerously low on supplies. She ended up making a run to the twenty-four hour bodega down the street and stocked up on diapers and formula.

When she returned Alice was a wailing disaster that had Oliver walking in circles, patting her back and bouncing up and down trying to get her to calm. Another bottle did the trick and they finally got her to sleep in her car seat before they collapsed themselves.

Felicity decided to use the quiet to start her highly illegal activity. She let Oliver pick Alice's birthdate. He used the same day of the month as Tommy's birthday and she'd laid a hand over his when he'd told her why he'd chosen it.

When it came time to enter their names on the form she hesitated. One more time Oliver gave her an out, but she shook her head and quickly typed in 'Felicity Megan Smoak' in the space for mother.

"Wow," she said, staring at the screen, "I never actually thought I'd ever see that."

Oliver looked at her quizzically, "Really?"

She shook her head, "No, never really thought of myself as the mother type. And then with this...well..." she let it go unsaid, but working for a superhero and having a family didn't seem to mix.

Oliver's hands had clenched when she put his name in, and she wisely stayed quiet. A few more keystrokes, and the baby was official. Felicity took the time to falsify hospital records to make it look like she'd been a patient. She also dug back through the last several months of photos of Oliver and her to make sure there weren't any that were missing an obviously apparent baby bump, but they'd managed to stay out of the limelight recently. She hoped if anyone questioned she'd be able to play off that she hadn't shown that much and had been trying to keep it a secret.

It seemed completely surreal that she was even considering any of this. All she could do was push through and keep working because if she stopped she'd probably freak out.

Oliver had an overnight delivery of every imaginable baby supply ever created sent to both the mansion and the club. She had a good laugh as he attempted to put together the crib, finally insisting he hold Alice while she finished it. The glare he sent her way only made her laugh more.

The next two days were a blur. They barely left the lair. Felicity went home once to shower and change and when she returned Oliver latched on to her with wild eyes and begged her not to leave him again.

Little Alice had gone from only occasionally being fussy to having hour long meltdowns all times of the day and night. Eventually the three of them had collapsed on the couch, exhausted. Oliver's arm was looped lightly around Felicity's shoulders as she used him as a pillow. Alice sprawled over her chest, her little hands clutching loops of Felicity's hair as she slept.

Felicity woke with a start, immediately realizing the weight on her chest was missing. Her hand shot out and grabbed Oliver. "Wake up! The baby's gone!" she cried frantically,

He came to just as suddenly, looking around in panic. "Where is she?"

They were both on their feet. Felicity dropped to her knees to look under the couch, hoping the baby hadn't rolled off her at some point. Fear rose in her throat, but she wasn't there. She barely registered as Oliver grasped her by the elbow and helped her to her feet.

They burst into the training room and stopped dead. John Diggle strolled the edge of the training mat. Burp cloth over one shoulder, baby positioned perfectly, patting her back gently as he walked a slow and steady pace.

"Oh god, she's ok!" Felicity gasped out, clutching Oliver's arm as he too let out an exhale of relief.

Digg leveled them with a look. "You two care to explain why I walked into the lair to find it turned into a daycare?"

Oliver seemed to have recovered from their fright first and went to reclaim Alice, transferring her to his arms with ease now.

There was a gleam of mischief in his eyes that worried Felicity, and as she joined his side she wondered what he was up to.

Alice had woken up and was staring at Oliver with wide blue eyes. "Alice, I see you've met your Uncle Digg." he said gently to her, and Felicity saw Digg's eyes go wide in surprise. But if the uptick in Oliver's mouth was any indication, he was about to go in for the kill.

Deliberately, Oliver stepped closer to Felicity. "Digg, we'd like you to meet our daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is the first new chapter to the former Trope#6. Thanks to befitandchase for hashing some of this out with me. **

**Enjoy, and let me know what you think. **

_Digg leveled them with a look. "You two care to explain why I walked into the lair to find it turned into a daycare?" _

_Oliver seemed to have recovered from their fright first and went to reclaim Alice, transferring her to his arms with ease now. _

_There was a gleam of mischief in his eyes that worried Felicity, and as she joined his side she wondered what he was up to. _

_Alice had woken up and was staring at Oliver with wide blue eyes. "Alice, I see you've met your Uncle Digg." he said gently to her, and Felicity saw Digg's eyes go wide in surprise. But if the uptick in Oliver's mouth was any indication, he was about to go in for the kill. _

_Deliberately, Oliver stepped closer to Felicity. "Digg, we'd like you to meet our daughter." _

To his credit Digg kept his composure while Felicity swatted at Oliver's arm, annoyed he would drop information this important in such a manner. She also tried to tamp down the way her stomach was flipping at hearing him refer to Alice as their daughter.

"No, Digg, it's not like that." she said quickly.

"Not like what?" he asked, coming closer. He held out the burp cloth to Oliver just as Alice decided to spit up a good portion of her bottle.

Now it was Digg's turn to grin, "Always take the spit rag, man. Always."

Oliver narrowed his eyes at Digg and then turned to Felicity who just shook her head. "No way. You both need a change." she said emphatically.

Oliver looked down at himself and let out a long sigh before exiting the room, Alice held slightly away from him.

As soon as he was out of earshot Digg leveled her with a look that made her swallow nervously.

"Explain." was all he said.

In her typically rambling fashion she did just that. She covered Oliver finding the baby out back, the note left for Tommy, and what they had done to make sure she wouldn't grow up in the system.

When she got to the part where she'd put herself down as the baby's mother Digg got angry and began to stalk after Oliver.

"No!" she yelled, running towards him and stopping him with a hand on his arm. "I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" the tone of his voice implied she actually had no idea, and as she stood in front of him, exhausted, hair unbrushed, in soiled clothes she thought that maybe he was right.

"How was I supposed to say no?" she hated how shaky her voice sounded.

Digg just stared at her for a long minute, "You say no. You tell him it's too much. You tell him to find another way." he said like it was the simplest thing in the world. "You don't agree to something this huge. This isn't a puppy, or babysitting for the weekend. This is around the clock, every week, every month, for _years_ Felicity! This is the rest of your life!"

"I know that! I couldn't tell him no, and I couldn't walk away. Could you walk away?" she challenged.

"If it meant keeping Carly and AJ safe, then yes, I could walk away. And if it meant sacrificing something like this...yeah, I could." he said immediately.

"Well I don't have that, ok. You and Oliver...that's it for me. So when I joined this team I joined it. Completely. And if you _really_ want to get down to it, I'm the reason why that baby doesn't have a father right now." She swiped an errant tear off her cheek, angry it had fallen.

Digg looked away and let out a long breath before he spoke again, "Felicity...you know there's more to this for you." she froze at his words. "Doing this with Oliver...you're setting yourself up, whether you realize it or not." her cheeks flushed red.

"Digg..." she began but he cut her off

"He may never be ready, and throwing a baby into the mix is just adding fuel to the fire. And you're the one who's going to get burned. Dammit, Felicity, you're too smart to do something this dumb!" Digg's normally calm demeanor was gone.

She stepped back gasping that he'd seen right through her. She'd never thought she was so transparent. Hot bitter anger flowed over her. Eyes flashing she turned on him. "It's my life!" she spat out, "I chose this. All of this. Him, _and_ Alice. I know it's not going to be easy, and I know it's probably not going to be fair, but it's my decision."

Digg scrubbed a hand over his face, "Alright," he said slowly, "And, I'm sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Thank you," she said stiffly. She didn't want him to see her as the victim in this scenario, or that Oliver was taking advantage of her because of how she felt about him. It's true some of that may be accurate, but she wasn't doing this blind.

Oliver walked back in alone and looked between them, picking up on the tension immediately. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," she said, falsely bright and winced internally because it was obvious things weren't alright. "I was just filling Digg in on...everything."

Oliver's eyes cut over her and then landed on Digg where they seemed to be having some sort of silent battle. Digg eventually crossed his arms and gave Oliver a look that let her know their discussion wasn't over.

"You two figured out how you're going to explain her to...everyone?" Digg finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, I've been thinking about that some." she said with a nervous half smile, "You've only been back two months." she directed at Oliver, "If we keep her hidden a couple of more weeks until she's bigger we could say she was born right before you returned to Starling City. The date on her birth certificate works out, and I was pretty much spending all my time here redoing the place so I didn't see many people...I think it could work." She gave them a shrug and waited.

"So that's the next few weeks. What about the next eighteen years?" Digg's voice was hard, "Have you two thought about anything? I'm sorry Felicity, but I can't stay quiet. Do you plan on keeping her here? What about your commitment to this city? Does that change because two thirds of this team is now playing house?"

Oliver bristled. "Doesn't seem to stop you from having a family life," he countered.

"I'm not the one putting the hood on every night. I'm not the one with the double identity. And I'm not the one asking Felicity to put her life on hold for me!" Apparently Digg wasn't going to wait until later to tell Oliver what he thought.

Felicity looked between them. They reminded her of angry bears and she was actually grateful when she heard Alice begin to fuss. She turned to Oliver and laid a hand on his forearm, waiting until he broke his stare down with Digg to look at her. "I'm going to go check on the baby. Why don't you two talk it out with the sticks," she suggested, tilting her head towards the equipment cabinet in the far corner. He and Digg always seemed to do better when there was the threat of violence, and she knew he hadn't had a good workout in days.

The cries grew louder as she approached the crib. Alice's little hands and feet had kicked their way out of her blanket. Felicity scooped her up and gave a little smile as she heard the sounds of the judo sticks striking each other. "Good, maybe they'll get that out of their systems then."

As she settled down in her chair with Alice lying contently on her chest Felicity eyed the screens and decided now was as good a time as any to figure out how to juggle the two halves of her new life. But she found out quickly that having to hold the baby seriously impacted her computer skills.

An hour later she'd dug through the numerous boxes of baby items Oliver had ordered and found a long length of fabric that let her strap the baby to her chest and leave her hands free. It took a few tries and watching a couple of YouTube videos but she figured it out. Alice seemed to like her new position and Felicity smiled evilly as she imagined the first time she made Oliver wear it.

With the baby asleep and the use of both hands she was able to make a dent in the work that had been piling up, including finding a lead on their next target.

By the time Oliver and Digg emerged from the back they were both bruised and battered, but any tension that had been there was now gone.

"Better?" she asked sardonically, not turning to look at them.

"You think you're so smart, Smoak?" Digg threw back at her and she gave him a cocky smile.

"Oh, I know I am," she said with a smirk and was glad to see him smile in return.

"So, look here," she directed, turning her attention back to what she'd found. Oliver and Digg came to flank her as she pointed to the screen. "That data mining program I've been running finally paid off. This guy has gone deep underground, but I was able to track him through this account here." They'd been trying to find any way possible to attack the new mob that was beginning to make significant inroads into the city. "Now, he's probably not going to surface anytime soon, but if we keep an eye on these accounts I should be able to figure out who he's working with."

Oliver's hand clasped her shoulder for a moment, "Good work," he told her, and leaned over her slightly to brush a finger across Alice's cheek. Felicity felt her own cheeks flush at his closeness, and fought to push her reactions to the side.

"She seems to like that contraption you've made there," he commented.

She rotated in the chair until she was facing him, "Glad you think so because next time it's your turn to wear it."

Digg gave a little chuckle at Oliver's slack-faced expression.

"I'm not..." he started but she cut him off with a glare.

"If it keeps her quiet you'll wear it," she told him in no uncertain terms and waited for him to give in.

Oliver made a noise in his throat that was half growl, half sound of annoyance, but he didn't protest again.

"So, are we getting out of here then?" he asked suddenly

"What do you mean?" She suddenly felt confused.

Oliver spread his hands wide and looked around the lair with lifted eyebrows, "She can't live here."

Her eyes flitted around the space, taking in how in such a short period of time Alice had taken over the lair. "Yeah, of course, you're right."

"We'll swing by your place so you can grab some things and then head to the mansion," he said perfunctorily

"Sure, sounds good...wait. What?" she said suddenly, eyes widening in shock at what he was implying.

Digg just shook his head and walked away as Oliver locked his gaze on her. "This was your idea. To hide her out at the mansion for a few weeks, remember?"

"Yeah, but...you want me to...oh god." She really hadn't thought this through. She'd committed to helping him with the baby, but hadn't taken into consideration any of the logistics of it, or what it would actually mean.

Pushing aside the panic that tried to overwhelm her she gave him a tremulous smile and stood up. "Ok, that's...fine. I'll just get enough for a few days and...we'll figure the rest out later."

Oliver had actually paled slightly and she wondered if he was just realizing what all of this meant outside the lair as well. They were leaving their insular little world that they shared, and everything on the other side of the door was different.

She couldn't look at him right then.

It took some time and Oliver's help to get the baby out of the wrap and into the car seat correctly. Felicity eventually asked Digg to make sure they'd done it safely. With a grumble he double checked the straps and assured her Alice would be fine.

The ride to her apartment seemed to take forever, and she insisted Oliver get in the back seat and sit with Alice while she ran inside. With Digg idling on the curb Felicity opted for the stairs. It wasn't until she had the door shut firmly behind her that she realized she was shaking.

Her own apartment looked foreign to her. She felt like she didn't belong, or that she was an impostor of some sort. Was she really doing this? Had she spent the past two days taking care of a baby with Oliver? Was she going to move into the Queen mansion indefinitely to help him care for Alice? Had she really falsified records saying they were that child's parents?

With each question she asked herself she became more and more overwhelmed. She managed to stumble forward a few steps until she slid down the wall, her legs rubber. A high pitched whining sound filled her ears, her breath so ragged she was starting to see spots.

She knew she was in the midst of a full blown panic attack but there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She didn't know how long she sat there. She knew she should get up but she couldn't get her body to obey. When Oliver's face floated in front of hers she thought maybe she'd started hallucinating.

His mouth was moving but she couldn't hear him.

When his hands settled on her shoulders she jerked, but he didn't let go. Ever so gradually the roar in her ears lessened, and her breathing slowed until she could hear him.

"Felicity, hey, what's going on?" His eyes bore into her, concern evident on his face.

"Sorry," she said, embarrassed he'd seen her like that. She tried to bring her hands up to wipe her face but he hadn't let go of her. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You're sitting in your hallway having a panic attack."

"What are we doing?" she asked almost pleadingly, "I don't know how to do this, and neither do you. And Digg's right, this isn't like babysitting. This is becoming parents to this child. Do you _really_ understand that? Because I don't think I do. I think we're just going through the motions right now, and I'm afraid of what happens when we stop and it all catches up with us," she said all this in a rush, her eyes glazed with tears.

Oliver finally let go of her to scrub a rough hand over his face and was quiet. "I don't know. I don't have all the answers. I may not actually have any answers. But, it's too much for you. I...I understand that. I should have never asked-"

She cut him off by laying a finger over his lips, her breath hitching at the contact and her own boldness. "I told you I would do this. And I will. But I don't think we have any idea what we've done."

His mouth curved into a half smile under her finger and she jerked it away quickly. "I think you're absolutely correct."

She let out a choked laugh and buried her face in her hands, hearing him stand up and take a few steps back, giving her space.

When she looked up he was still there, waiting patiently. He extended a hand and she slid hers in, trying not to pay attention to how easily he pulled her up.

"Get your things. I'll be here when you're ready." There was something in his expression she had never seen before and it threw her off. All she could do was numbly nod her head and try her hardest to make her feet move in the correct direction without tripping.

She packed her bag on autopilot, barely paying attention as she pulled clothes from drawers and gathered toiletries and her laptop. Her thoughts tried to stray back to why this was quite possibly the most ill advised decision she'd ever made in her life but she just shook her head forcefully and pushed it aside. Later. She'd deal with it later.

She walked into her living room with a duffel bag slung over her shoulder, nervously wringing her hands. Oliver stood with his back to her, hands shoved in his pockets as he studied the space around him. He'd never been in her apartment before, and she was struck by how small it seemed now with him there.

He didn't move as she approached, and when she reached out a hand to barely brush his arm he twitched slightly before turning to look at her. Her fingers were frozen in mid air, and she knew her face showed shock at having surprised him.

"Ready to go?" he asked evenly, pretending nothing had happened.

She swallowed heavily and nodded, "Yeah, I'm good."

Digg gave them a grateful look when they emerged. Alice had been asleep when they'd pulled up, but she was starting to fuss. Oliver slid the bag from Felicity's shoulder and threw it in the trunk while she climbed into the backseat.

Alice's face was getting redder by the second and Felicity felt helpless. She tried shushing her and holding her little hand but nothing seemed to work. "There's not a bottle made, is there?" she asked Oliver as Digg pulled away from the curb and began to head for the mansion.

Oliver gave her a blank look; neither of them had thought of that.

By the time they arrived at Oliver's, Alice was loudly announcing her disapproval. Felicity winced as Digg opened the door for her and the baby's wails were broadcasted to the world.

"Better get her inside and fed," Digg suggested and Felicity just huffed as she fought with the car seat and safety belt.

Oliver stood on the steps waiting for her. "I'd hoped to come in unnoticed. There's an old nursery that Thea and I used in the east wing upstairs and no one else is over there now." He glanced down at Alice in her car seat and took the handle from Felicity.

"Well, I don't think this one is going to cooperate. Maybe no one is home," she said helpfully as he pushed the door open.

If Alice's cries were loud in the confines of the car they were amplified in the multi-floor foyer and marble covered floors of Oliver's home.

Felicity couldn't help but look around in awe at the opulence. Digg set bags inside the door and she took hers from him without even noticing.

There were suddenly voices calling from upstairs and further into the house. Felicity saw Oliver's eyes shut for a moment before he turned to her suddenly. "Just play along," he whispered lowly.

Thea Queen came thundering down the stairs gaping at the sight that met her, just as a door opened and an older woman in a uniform hurried forward.

"Master Oliver?" she said just as Thea yelled, "Ollie!"

Oliver looked briefly at his sister, and turned to the woman. "Raisa, this is Felicity Smoak, and this is Alice. They're going to be staying here. Would it be possible to have the nursery opened?"

Raisa blinked at him in surprise but recovered quickly, "Of course, Master Oliver, I will see to it right away."

He smiled his thanks and waited until she was out of sight before he turned to Thea who now waited at the bottom of the stairs and stood expectantly, arms crossed.

Felicity hadn't moved a muscle. She was planted in the same spot, next to him, her hand gripping the strap of her bag so hard her knuckles were white.

Oliver gave his sister a tight smile, "Speedy," he said easily, like he hadn't just walked into their house with an infant and a woman she didn't remember meeting.

"Don't 'Speedy' me, who's the kid and who is she?" Thea demanded.

Oliver's eyes darkened slightly at her tone and Felicity felt like everything was getting away from her as Oliver wrapped his free hand around her arm and tugged her closer. They hadn't talked about this. They hadn't even thought about what to tell Thea. Her breath caught in her throat as she waited for him to speak. Would he tell his sister the truth, or the lie?

"This is Felicity, and this...is Alice. She's...ours." He tried to sound calm, but he couldn't stop the sight hitch in his voice.

Thea's eyes went wide in shock and she stood in stunned silence.

Alice continued to cry. Finally Felicity felt like she'd settled back into her body. Propelled into motion she tugged the car seat from Oliver's grasp and sat in on the floor, hurriedly undoing the straps and pulled the baby to her chest, bouncing her slightly and murmuring pleas in her ear in hopes of getting her to settle down.

Oliver and Thea were still staring at each other.

Thea blinked rapidly, "She's..._yours_?" she asked in disbelief. Oliver just nodded.

"How..." she began and then cut herself off, "I know _how,_ but...when, and...I didn't even know you were seeing her."

Felicity's cheeks had flushed pink and she walked a few steps away under the guise of trying to quiet Alice.

"It's a long story," Oliver said, but Thea wasn't giving up that easily.

"A long story? Ollie you disappeared for _months_, now you've been back for only a little while and you walk in with a baby..." She looked at him like he was a stranger, and Felicity saw the way the muscles in his back drew taut.

"It's my fault," Felicity blurted out, coming to stand in front of him, unconsciously putting herself in the line of fire. "He didn't know about her until...recently."

Thea's sharp eyes cut over Felicity, holding her gaze while she directed her next question to Oliver. "And how do you know it's yours?"

Felicity felt like she'd been slapped. She didn't know why. The baby wasn't hers, Oliver wasn't hers, but the insinuation that she was nothing more than a gold digger stung. It also made her realize that the press was going to have the exact same thought.

Oliver was at her side in a second, one hand coming around her waist to cup her elbow. "That's enough, Thea," Oliver ground out and Thea had the decency to look somewhat chagrined. "Alice is mine."

"And what about Felicity, is she yours too?" Thea asked, clearly not completely giving up yet.

"It's complicated."

"We're figuring things out."

They'd spoken at the same time, which earned them a smirk from Thea.

"I have to say, she doesn't seem like your normal type, Ollie."

Felicity looked at the floor again, not knowing why Thea's comments were cutting so hard.

Oliver's fingers dug into her skin. Thea must have noticed her words had been taken poorly. She stepped down the last step and approached them. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that," she said sincerely and Felicity looked up quickly and gave her a tight smile.

"So...do I get to meet my niece?" Thea asked, falsely bright. "Even though she seems pretty upset right now."

"She's um...she's hungry, I think." Felicity stuttered out and immediately wished she'd stayed quiet. She didn't sound like someone who'd been a mother for the past couple of months.

"How about we get her settled and then you can come see her," Oliver answered diplomatically.

"Sounds good. I wouldn't mind if it was a bit less deafening when we were properly introduced," Thea said, giving the baby a cursory glance as she passed. Oliver picked up the car seat and Felicity's bag and went to motion her towards the stairs when Thea spoke up from the doorway.

"See you later, Daddy," she gave a little wave and disappeared, leaving a shell shocked Oliver with one foot on the staircase.

The word 'Daddy' seemed to echo in the space, and Felicity couldn't tear her eyes from Oliver's face. A gamut of emotions flashed, but guilt and pain were the winners. She couldn't imagine what he was thinking just then.

When she could breathe again, Oliver was almost to the top of the stairs. Felicity secured her hold on Alice and took her time. When she made it to the top he was waiting half way down the hall. He didn't even look when she began to follow him.

There were two more turns and then he pushed open a door into a large room, softly lit. Raisa was pulling the last of the drop cloths off a chest of drawers and a rocking chair.

"Would you like the deliveries brought up here, Master Oliver?" she asked, unable to keep her eyes off of Felicity and the baby.

Oliver only nodded, his jaw clenched so tight he didn't seem capable of speech.

Felicity spied a wooden bassinet in the corner, "Actually, could you have it brought up later. That will be fine for now." She nodded towards the small crib on rockers and Raisa gave her a smile of approval.

"That has been in the Queen family for four generations, she should sleep there first," Raisa said with pride and then she was gone, leaving Felicity stunned.

If she'd thought Oliver had been tense before, he was about to boil over now.

She tried speaking, tried to apologize, but she couldn't get her voice to work.

Alice continued to cry and finally Oliver broke from his stupor. He set down the seat and the bag and dug around until he found what he needed to make a bottle and stalked from the room.

Felicity let out a long breath and walked on shaky legs to the rocking chair. Alice seemed to like the motion and quieted a bit. Relaxing a little Felicity looked out the large bay window at the grounds.

"Here," Oliver said suddenly, right over her shoulder as a bottle entered her field of vision.

She startled which caused Alice to as well. Felicity took the bottle without a word and quickly gave it to the hungry baby. As she began to eat, Felicity let her head fall back in relief, silence finally falling around them.

Oliver hadn't moved.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I didn't know. Have them bring the crib up, I'll put it together as soon as she's done. I don't mind. Really. She shouldn't sleep there if you don't want her to."

He hadn't so much as blinked, just stared at a spot outside she couldn't see.

"She called me 'Daddy'," he said suddenly, and Felicity couldn't help the gasp she let out. "What right do I have? I didn't...I didn't think about any of this...what have I done?" he scraped both hands over his face and into his hair.

"Oliver...we're doing the right thing. We are. We have to believe that. No more second guessing," she said with fervor she hadn't felt herself only an hour earlier. Somehow his breakdown was clarifying things for her. "If we didn't do this she'd be in a cold cot somewhere. She'd have the stigma of the Merlyn name over her head her entire life. We can...we can change that for her. We can do it for Tommy." Her eyes blurred with tears as she spoke.

She didn't address how Thea had called him 'Daddy' though, that was something he wasn't ready to deal with yet. It wasn't something she was ready to deal with either and she knew it.

The longer he stood there, unmoving, the more worried she became. They'd gone too far. There was no walking this back. A small thread of panic began to make itself known, and she could hear Digg's voice in her head telling her she was too smart to do something so dumb.

"Okay," Oliver said suddenly, his voice strong. "Okay." And when she risked looking at him, he had the same look in his eyes as he did before he walked out of the lair to go on a mission.

His hand came to rest along the back of the chair as he looked down at Alice, who had her eyes shut, contently continuing to eat.

"Well, don't the three of you just make the perfect family picture," a voice said across the room. Felicity whipped her head to the side to see Thea.

"Sorry I was such a bitch earlier. Hasn't been a really great year for me," she said, as she pushed off the doorframe and crossed the room.

Oliver stepped back to let his sister come closer. She seemed younger now as she approached. Her steps slowed the closer she got, eyes locked on Alice.

Thea looked at Felicity from a few feet away, "Is it okay, I'm not going to wake her up or..."

It hit Felicity suddenly that Thea was deferring to her because she thought she was Alice's mother. Overwhelming pressure welled up within her and all she could do was nod mutely. It was Oliver that answered for her.

"It's fine, she's eating so she's happy," he assured Thea who came up next to the chair and peered down.

A broad smile crossed her face, "She's gorgeous. She looks like you," she said, and Felicity did everything she could to keep herself from reacting. Oliver's hand dropped to her shoulder and she let out a shaky breath, hoping Thea wouldn't notice.

"I think it's still too early to tell," she managed to get out sounding somewhat normal.

Hesitantly, Thea reached out a hand and stroked it over Alice's fine hair. The baby flinched at the contact and Thea froze. "Sorry. Oh god, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, she does that," Oliver said

Thea straightened out and gave him a smile, "Listen to you. You sound like a professional Daddy already."

Oliver's fingers tightened on Felicity's shoulder, "I'm learning." he said, his voice not betraying the emotions she knew were battling inside him.

"Well, I'll leave you guys to get settled, but I expect some quality Auntie Thea time later. I can't wait to go shopping for her!" she said excitedly and then they were left in the quiet of the nursery.

The bottle was empty and Alice was sleeping soundly. Instead of speaking to Oliver, Felicity chose to remain silent. She stood slowly, feeling his hand slip off her shoulder as she did.

The wooden bassinet seemed imposing now, carrying the weight of the Queen legacy with it.

"Here, you should put her in it," she said suddenly and started to hand Alice to Oliver.

He protested, putting his hands up and stepping back but she followed him. "You should do it," she said gently and tried again, giving him a supportive smile.

He took Alice reluctantly, sliding his hands under Felicity's as she transferred the baby to him. She straightened the blanket some, making sure it was away from her face, until she realized he was waiting for her. Felicity pulled her hands back quickly, shoving them down by her side to keep them from fidgeting.

Shadows cut across the angles of his face leaving him looking hard. She stepped back, feeling like she was imposing. His knees bent as he leaned down and placed Alice in the bed. He paused for a long moment, and then slowly took his hands out from underneath her, not breathing until he was once again standing upright.

When his hand stretched out behind him towards her Felicity almost didn't take it. It was only when she saw him begin to retract it that she was compelled to move. With her heart thundering in her chest she stumbled forward, slipping her hand into his and squeezing it tight.

They stood there for a long while until he stepped away, towing her along with him. When he reached a door she hadn't noticed he turned the handle and led her inside.

"You can stay here for now. I'll be in my room if you need me." His voice was dead, no emotion, no inflection.

When she finally found her words he was gone, her hand cold and limp by her side. She looked around the dark space, and gave a slightly hysterical laugh. She didn't even know where his room was.

She pushed wayward strands of hair out of her face and let out a long breath before she stole back into the nursery to grab her bag.

As she went through the motions of getting ready for bed, she tried to block out the look on Oliver's face as he'd placed Alice in the bassinet. Unsuccessful she climbed into bed, her eyes locked on the open door that led to the nursery.

She knew she should catch the few hours of sleep Alice was going to allow her. Tomorrow was supposed to be a work day, but they hadn't even discussed that yet. With a sigh she rolled to her back and stared at the ceiling.

That night she dreamt about stepping off cliffs.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So glad everyone is responding well to this story. Thanks so much for all the great reviews, and for being so eager to read more. **

**Enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

When Felicity woke up five hours later she was fully convinced the Queen family bassinet contained magical properties because that was the longest Alice had slept since they'd had her.

Feeling almost like a normal person she squinted at the clock to see it was still early. She tiptoed into the nursery to peek and saw that the baby wasn't fully awake yet. If she hurried she'd have enough time to make a bottle and get back before she started screaming the house down.

Hoping Oliver had left what she needed in the kitchen she headed out the door, not bothering to change out of the tank top and shorts she'd slept in. She was halfway down the hallway before she realized she had no idea where to go.

She took a wrong turn before she had to turn back and go the other direction. As she passed a door that was slightly cracked she wondered if it was Oliver's. Not wanting to intrude, but also not wanting to spend minutes she might not have searching for the kitchen she pushed the door open slowly until she could make out a masculine looking bedroom.

The shirt Oliver had worn the day before was tossed over a chair near the entrance and she felt confident she had the right room.

There was enough pre-dawn light coming through the large windows that she could make out the bed and a form laying in it.

Swallowing heavily she padded across the floor. Oliver was on his back, head turned away from her. She took a moment to look at him, she rarely got to see him so relaxed and at ease.

Face flushed she shook her head, reaching a hand out to brush across his bare arm before she could get caught staring at him.

She didn't have time to scream, or yelp, or do anything really. One second she was trying to wake him, the next she found herself on the bed, one of his hands grasping her wrists above her head, the other wrapped around her throat.

It didn't occur to her to be frightened. But as the hand on her throat tightened, and she looked up at him she began to worry that he was somewhere else right then and may hurt her by accident.

There was a wild frenzy flashing through his eyes she'd never seen before. When she struggled and tried to get her arms free his hold got tighter. She made an attempt to throw him off, but he had straddled her hips, pinning her to the bed, unable to move.

"Ol...Oliver," she choked out until she couldn't make a noise any longer due to the pressure on her throat. Panic set in as she could no longer take a breath and spots began to dance before her eyes.

A terrified sound escaped her chest. She saw him blink once, and look at her in confusion, and then horror.

The pressure let up immediately and she was left gasping for air. She lowered one of her now free hands to her neck and rubbed the bruised skin as she coughed and tried to take a deep breath.

Oliver had pushed himself to the end of the bed, shock and self-disgust splashed all over his face.

"I'm okay," she managed to croak out, pushing herself into the pillows, trying to sit up and look like she was fine.

He didn't seem to hear her.

Felicity approached him as carefully as she could, sliding across the sheets until she was only a foot from him. She reached a hand out and then drew it back. "Oliver," she said, louder this time, waiting until he turned towards her to say it again. "Oliver, look at me." she directed and ever so slowly he raised his eyes to her.

Her hand was on his cheek before she could stop it. "Hey, it's okay. I shouldn't have surprised you. I should have knocked or something. I'm sorry." she'd say anything she had to in order to get that look off his face.

He was silent but his hand wrapped around her wrist and lowered it so they weren't touching any more. She curled her fingers into her palm and dug her nails in, trying not to feel rejected.

"Oliver," she said again, "What happened?" she thought maybe if she could get him talking he'd pull himself out of where ever he was trapped.

"I was dreaming." he said roughly.

"About what?" she asked, hoping she wasn't pushing him too hard.

He scrubbed both hands across his face, before sitting in a more natural position. He no longer looked like he was going to bolt at any second. "The island." he answered and she couldn't hide the gasp she let out.

"I haven't done that in a long time." he admitted, still not looking at her.

"It's...it's understandable. You're under a lot of stress..."

She stopped abruptly when his head whipped towards her, "That doesn't excuse almost killing you." he growled.

Her hand was back on his cheek in an instant. "Oliver, you didn't do it on purpose. I know you'd never hurt me." she said as gently as possible.

The look in his eyes told her he didn't believe her, but whatever he was going to say was lost when a throat cleared loudly from the doorway.

"I suppose it's not that complicated after all." Thea said.

Felicity froze for a second before drawing her hand back like it had been burned. She knew exactly what this looked like. Felicity in her brother's bed when it was still dark out, him without a shirt, the sheets rumpled. Mortified she scrambled off the far side and stood wringing her hands in front of her.

"It's not...it's not what it looks like. I just..." but Thea held her hand up to stop her.

"Don't care. But the kid is crying her head off and some of us in this house are used to a normal amount of sleep." She rolled off the frame and disappeared into the hallway.

"Oh god, Alice! Can you go get her a bottle. That's what I was doing before I came in here, I didn't know where the kitchen was and I didn't want to go searching, and..." she trailed off as he came to stand right in front of her.

His hand came up and coasted over her neck. She was unable to suppress a shiver. "I'm sorry," he said throatily, thumb tracing over an area she was afraid was going to show a bruise later.

"I'm okay." she assured him, hating how affected her voice sounded. "Now, we should...go and do the things...I'm just...yeah..." and before she could say anything more embarrassing she almost ran from the room.

Alice's wails led her back without losing her way, she was a few doors away when everything went silent. Felicity hurried her pace and entered the nursery to see Raisa holding Alice, murmuring something in her ear.

"Sorry," Felicity said with a wince as she approached, "I was going to get her a bottle but I didn't know where the kitchen was, and..."

Raisa just shook her head and smiled, "It is no problem. I've missed having babies in this house."

Felicity felt a pang of guilt that they were deceiving someone who obviously cared for the Queen's. "I should change her."

"I can do that." Raisa said,

Felicity began to protest but she was cut off, "First rule of motherhood. If someone offers help; take it."

"Um...ok then, I guess a shower would probably not be a bad idea. If you're sure? And Oliver will be here any minute with her bottle so he can take over." she didn't want him to think she was pawning the baby off on the staff.

"Miss Felicity, we'll be fine." and made a small shooing gesture with her hand.

Felicity took the hint and headed through the door when Raisa called out, "And thank you, Miss Felicity."

She turned to look at the woman, at a loss for what she could be thanking her for.

"You brought Master Oliver back to us, and now you've brought us Miss Alice. Thank you." she said it with such feeling and deep conviction Felicity couldn't stop the tears that sprung to her eyes.

She had no words, all she could do was nod once and shut the door behind her, leaning heavily into the solid wood and letting out a long breath.

The bathroom attached to the room she'd stayed in was nicer than most hotels she'd seen. Not wanting to take too long, she took what she dubbed a 'prison shower', and was dried off and getting dressed in under ten minutes.

When she peeked into the nursery Raisa was gone and Oliver stood by the massive window, stiffly holding Alice as he fed her.

Felicity purposely cleared her throat and made a noise with the door handle as she walked in. She'd avoided the mirror for the most part while she'd been in the bathroom and hadn't looked at her neck, she hoped her leaving her hair down and lose would provide some cover.

Oliver's head turned slightly as she walked up behind him. She briefly wondered if her making sure he heard her had been obvious and if it would make him self-conscious.

"Sorry, Raisa insisted she wanted to take care of her. I don't want you to think I was taking advantage." she explained as she joined him.

He mouth actually turned up slightly. "Raisa is very happy to help. You'd have hurt her feelings if you turned her down."

Alice looked tinier than she normally did in his arms and Felicity had to resist the urge to dab away the little trickle of formula that was running out of her mouth.

The silence between them was heavy and she knew he was still dwelling on what had happened earlier. She had no idea how to convince him she wasn't upset at anyone other than herself.

"Felicity,"

"Oliver,"

They said at the same time, and she turned away suddenly nervous.

"I need to go in to the office today. There's an investor meeting that can't be postponed, and..."

"And you've got the board meeting at three. I know. I put it on your calendar." she finished for him, trying to sound like everything was fine since he was clearly choosing to not talk about it.

"I was thinking maybe you could take the week off. It would give us a chance to get our story straight, maybe meet with the lawyers, PR, HR...whoever else we need to see and settle how we're going to announce this to the public." He'd been thinking about this for awhile she could tell.

"Oh, well...I had a few projects going that needed my attention, and I'm usually in those meetings with you but...I suppose it's ok. If it's only for this week." she said carefully,

"I'll be here as much as I can. I won't leave everything to you. You're already doing more than I should be asking." his gaze never wavered from the window as he spoke.

She opened her mouth to protest, to tell him once again this was her choice, but she decided not to. He'd hear her when he was ready.

"What about the lair?" she asked hesitantly, not sure how she'd react if he told her to take a week off from that as well.

A muscle in his jaw ticked, "I don't know yet. Digg can put on the hood and patrol some. Unless we get a hit on Barerra from any of your searches we'll put him on the back burner for now."

She honestly had no idea how they were going to juggle taking care of Alice and their 'night' job, and she had a feeling he didn't either.

"I can monitor some of that from here, but you know I don't like doing anything outside the lair, not after what happened last year." she told him.

"I know. We'll figure it out." his voice was clipped, and she knew he wanted this part of the conversation to be over with.

"Maybe it'll be a quiet week." she said, giving him a smile.

This finally made him turn his head. All he did was lift an eyebrow at her. There were never quiet weeks in Starling City.

Tilting her head in agreement she took the empty bottle from him and grabbed a burp cloth before holding her hands out. "Give her up, you need to go put on an insanely expensive suit and act like a billionaire CEO for the day."

"But I _am_ a billionaire CEO." he deadpanned as he passed her the baby.

She suppressed a laugh, glad to see he was at least pretending like things weren't totally spiraling out of their control left and right.

Oliver returned after he'd changed, and she wasn't going to complain that he was wearing three piece suits more often than not these days. It was a look he pulled off well.

"Call if you need anything. I..." that guilty look she knew so well crept back in.

"We'll be fine. I'm sure I can get some work done here while she's sleeping." she assured him. "In fact, we'll walk you down because I really need to get the lay of this place."

Oliver led the way. "Raisa will be more than happy to show you around."

Thea was rushing down the stairs behind them when they reached the foyer. "Care to give a sister a ride in?" she asked, slightly breathless.

"Sure, I didn't think you'd need to be at the club yet." he replied.

"Delivery day. And Tommy's system is still taking some getting used to." Felicity could see the flash of pain that crossed her face, a reminder that Thea had lost someone close to her as well.

Oliver just nodded stiffly. "Yeah, that won't be a problem."

"Have a good day." Felicity called after them.

Thea stopped in the doorway and turned to Oliver with her eyebrow raised, "Aren't you going to kiss your baby girl goodbye, Ollie?"

She was already turning to exit so she didn't see how rigid he went, or the way his face froze. With Thea waiting he didn't have an choice.

His large hand came out to cup the back of Alice's head, and then he brushed the barest of kisses over her hair. Felicity didn't dare look at him.

"What about your other girl?" Thea called saucily, tongue trapped between her teeth as she grinned at them.

Now it was Felicity's turn to freeze. She raised wide eyes and waited for him to act.

He moved forward with a wave of soap and the ever present smell of leather. His lips coasted over her cheek so quickly it was over before she could register it was happening. "I'll call you later." he promised, and then they were gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you again! You are all wonderful. I love reading what you have to say about the story. I'm really enjoying writing this one. **

**There's some good stuff in this one, I think. Hope you agree. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

The following three days were different, to say the least. Felicity learned quickly she would be getting no work done during Alice's waking hours. When Oliver returned she turned over care of her for as long as she could in a frantic attempt to do as much as possible, but it was never enough. By the time Thursday night came she was exhausted and stressed and having a hard time keeping it to herself.

He'd sent her a text from the car saying he and Digg were swinging by the lair before he returned to the house. That was at nine.

At midnight she started sending texts of her own, to both Oliver and Digg.

When they didn't respond she called.

When it went to voice mail she broke her own rules and used her laptop to track their GPS signatures. They both were in motion and seemed to be on their way back to the lair.

A little before one she got a message from Digg telling her Oliver was coming back on his own.

She was waiting for him when he arrived. She sat part way up the main staircase, baby monitor turned down low at her side. She'd seen red when she'd found it after two days of feeling like she couldn't go ten feet from the nursery. The monitor gave her some freedom of movement at least.

The lights were off and she left them that way. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and the little bit of moonlight that shone through the windows illuminated patches of floor here and there.

When she heard the bike rumble into the drive and the cut of the headlight through the windows she tensed.

Felicity was pissed.

The door pushed open slowly. There was a slackness to his shoulders that wasn't normally there but she ignored it.

He hadn't taken two steps when she burst to her feet.

"Oliver Queen! Just what in the hell do you think you were doing?" she hissed as quietly as she could. "Since when do you go off on missions and not tell me? Since when do you not answer your phone? This...what happened tonight...this is not okay. I know everything is crazy and different and we're still trying to figure all this out, but that doesn't mean that the new plan is I stay home. You need to decide if I'm your partner or your nanny, because I don't think I can be both!"

He'd barely looked in her direction when she started her tirade. It took her a few beats to realize he was moving slow and seemed very focused on just putting one foot in front of the other. When he got to the newel post he leaned against it heavily and raised his eyes to hers.

Light fell across his face and whatever anger she'd felt fell away as she saw the tension, and pain, as well as how pale he was.

"Can I give you my answer after you stitch me up?" he said raggedly,

"What happened?" she asked immediately, hurrying down the remaining steps to stand before him, hands hovering over the front of his jacket. There was a dark stain on his front left side.

"Oh god! Why didn't you have Digg do this before you left?" she demanded as she began to frantically pull his shirt up in order to get a better look.

He hissed through his teeth as the fabric scraped over the area. She blanched when she saw the wound. It was deep, and still bleeding. The waist band of his jeans were crusted with drying blood.

Without thought she placed her hand over it and pressed. He groaned, and gripped the railing tighter.

"It was a bad night, I just wanted it to end." he said, "I just wanted to come home."

Her heart flipped at his words and she admonished herself. She had no reason to think he meant he wanted to come home to _her. _

When his knees sagged she swapped hands and slipped beneath his arm, wrapping her now bloodstained hand around his waist. "Come on, we can't do this here. If Thea or Raisa see you we'll have even more problems to deal with."

She'd never know how she got him up the stairs and into his room. His weight was almost fully on her shoulders, his feet practically dragging as they approached the bed.

She tried to ease him down gradually but he ended up collapsing. She was pulled down with him, her right arm trapped behind his back as she tried to keep pressure on his wound with her other.

"Oliver!" she cried out, fear beginning to climb within her that he was seriously hurt.

He managed to grunt in response as she tugged her arm from underneath him.

"Oliver, talk to me!" she demanded, leaning over him.

His eyes blinked open slowly and tried to focus on her.

"Good," she said, letting out a quick, relieved exhale. "That's good. I need your help. If I'm going to close this wound I need supplies. Do you have any here, or am I going to need to call Digg?"

His head lolled slightly to the side and then back again. "Bathroom...there's a suture kit."

She didn't waste any time in racing to find what she needed. Her hands were smeared with his blood, and the one time she let herself look at them her stomach rolled.

She snatched the nearest towel off a rack and wiped them furiously before opening and closing numerous drawers. In the back of one she found what she needed.

A thought struck her as she exited the bathroom and she cursed under her breath for forgetting the baby monitor. She looked quickly at Oliver who was breathing shallowly but seemed no worse than when she had left him. She darted down the stairs and grabbed the monitor before turning around and running back. The lock on the door fell shut with a loud click and she returned to his side.

The lamp on the bedside table didn't give off much light, but it was the best she had. Oliver's face looked grey, and her heart rate increased as she hovered over him.

With difficulty she got him out of his jacket and used scissors to cut straight up the front of his t-shirt instead of trying to pull it off of him.

The wound was almost two inches long, and looked like it had been done with a jagged blade. Her concerns immediately turned to any internal damage he may have received.

"Oliver!" she said desperately, shaking his shoulder. "Oliver!" she tried again, cupping his jaw with one hand and forcing his head to turn towards her.

His lashes lifted slightly until she could barely see his eyes. "Listen to me, okay. I have to know how deep it went in." when he didn't respond she shook him again, "Oliver! Answer me! How deep did it go in?"

She was seconds away from calling an ambulance, consequences be damned when he answered.

"Not very deep, just...messy." he slurred.

Relief flowed through her, "Okay, that's good. That's very, very good."

His eyes fell shut again, for which she was grateful. The kit didn't include anything to numb the area. She knew he would have endured it silently if he'd been awake, but she was glad he didn't have to.

With a flush she eyed his jeans. The waist lay just below the injury and would make it hard to get to.

"Holy crap, I can't believe I'm doing this." she muttered to herself before she reached for the button.

Getting the pants off him proved to be so difficult any embarrassment she had disappeared as she wiped sweat off her brow with her arm.

When she was finished she gave herself a second to appreciate the sight of Oliver in nothing but his boxers. The trickle of blood that ran from his wound jolted her back to reality.

Digg had insisted she learn how to suture. She hated it. She'd rather deal with cables, and cords than blood. But, she had to admit, as often as he and Oliver got hurt it made sense. She'd never had to do it herself though. Not alone, with Oliver unconscious, and his sister sleeping down the hall, and Tommy's baby in the nursery.

That familiar flutter of panic began again and she had to squash it down.

It took her longer than it would have taken Digg, but in relatively short order she'd cleaned the area, put in eight neat stitches, and taped a bandage in place.

She didn't start shaking until she went into the bathroom to throw away the remains of the kit.

The water ran pink as she washed her hands, blood still caked under her nails where it had dried when she'd put the gloves on. She needed him to wake up and be okay and tell her exactly what had happened.

He hadn't moved. She tugged the blankets out from underneath him and covered him up before drawing up a nearby chair and sinking into it.

Her hand came to rest on his wrist, fingers found his pulse and she left them there.

She curled up as best she could and tried to fight her drooping eyes. She wanted to be there when he woke up. Memories of him crashing on the table the night she'd found out his secret went through her mind and she shook her head sharply to rid herself of them.

Sleep had been the furthest thing from her mind, but she'd had so little the past week she was helpless to stop it. She woke up an hour later to Alice's pitiful cries.

Felicity wiped a hand across her face and rose from the chair, looking down at Oliver.

His color was better. She touched his forehead, and then his cheek but there was no fever. Alice cried again, pulling her from him.

She made her way to the nursery quickly. Alice quieted as soon as she was being held, but Felicity knew she'd want to eat. The last two nights she'd woken once for a bottle and then slept for another five hours, she was hoping tonight would prove to be the same.

There was no doubt she'd bring Alice and her bottle back to Oliver's room after she stopped in the kitchen. She considered the chair, but the unused expanse of his bed looked too inviting to ignore.

With the justification of being able to keep a closer watch over him she climbed in on the far side and adjusted a pillow under her arm before she fed the increasingly fussy Alice.

The bottle was drained in short order, and she merely sat it aside, too tired to get up. Alice's contented snuffles as Felicity patted her back got fewer and more far between until they were both once again asleep.

Quiet whispers, and happy baby gurgles drew her from the fog of sleep. When she cracked open one eye she saw she'd turned onto her side at some point, now facing Oliver. Alice lay between them, feet kicking as Oliver let her hold onto his fingers.

When Alice let out an overly excited squeal he shushed her gently. The hand he lay on her chest to quiet her some only made her squeal more as she tried to grab on to him.

Felicity couldn't help the grin the spread across her face. Her eyes traveled up his arm to find him solely focused on the baby, the pinched look between his brows was almost non existent.

Her head was close to his shoulder, only a few scant inches away. A surge of want went through her without warning. The desire that _this_ is what she could wake up to every day almost took her breath away.

She shifted a bit and ran a hand through her hair, letting him know she was awake. "Looks like she's in a good mood." she said as evenly as possible.

He didn't seem to be surprised she was up, he never looked away from Alice as he spoke. "She's been up for a bit, not hungry, just wanted to be entertained."

"How are you?" she asked, looking down the broad, hardened planes of his chest to where she could just see the edge of the bandage peeking out from underneath the covers.

The calmness he'd felt slipped away. She watched as his demeanor changed. "I'm better than I was...thank you."

She wasn't angry anymore, but she still needed answers.

"Why did you do it?" she asked softly. "And why didn't Digg stop you?" He sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes before turning to face her.

"I didn't give him much of a chance." he admitted, "I felt like I'd been failing in my duty to the city. The intel came in on Barerra's men and we needed to act. I knew it wasn't a smart decision to go in blind but I didn't see where we had another option."

Alice kicked out, and Felicity grabbed her little foot automatically, running her finger over the sole, unconsciously counting the toes as she digested what he said.

"Would you have been hurt if I had been in the lair?" her voice was low, betraying her frustration.

"Probably not." he said almost immediately. Her eyes slammed shut as she breathed through her nose in an attempt to keep herself calm.

"My question still stands, Oliver. Am I your partner, or am I your nanny?" she was committed to Alice, committed to Green Arrow and all that both of those entailed, but she didn't think she could do one or the other.

He was silent for a long time. Alice was quite occupied by trying to get one of his fingers into her mouth. His hand pulled away from the baby and settled on Felicity's bent thigh she almost jumped.

When he spoke it was so quiet she almost couldn't hear him. "I can't do this without you. Any of it."

She could hear her heart beat in her ears. She didn't dare move.

"I need you in my ear, in my head...in my life." he said throatily, his fingers digging slightly into her leg. "I'll do better."

"Okay then." she whispered back, the room silent now except for Alice.

It was a few minutes before he spoke again. "The meeting with the lawyers, and everyone else is in a few hours." he told her and she balked. The knowledge that soon there would be no more hiding was disconcerting. It would all be out there and their new life would begin, twenty four hours a day.

She pulled away from him and shoved herself backwards against the headboard.

"Wh...what are we going to tell them?" somehow in the past few days they'd never gotten around to discussing, what was quite possibly, the most important decision they'd ever make.

He gave her a sympathetic look and sat up some too, wincing slightly. "That's what we need to figure out."

She sighed heavily and let her head fall back. "You know that no matter what we say I'm going to be portrayed as a gold digger. Thea's initial reaction wasn't wrong."

"I'm not going to let that happen." he said sharply,

She gave a small snort of disbelief, "Oliver, you can make a lot of things happen, but even you are incapable of controlling the press. This is the proverbial blood in the water, and they are the sharks."

"Then we don't give them any room to question." his voice was sure, even a little defiant.

"What do you mean?" she asked warily.

"We tell them we were involved before the Glades fell, but you didn't know you were pregnant before I left. You had no way of contacting me while I was gone. She was born right before I returned. We started our relationship back up, and have been keeping her quiet to protect our privacy. Now we're together and fully committed to each other and to raising Alice." he said it so perfunctorily, as if he had been in the board room instead of in his bed with her and a baby.

Felicity was speechless. Never had she ever even considered the idea he had just proposed. It was so far outside her realm of possibility she'd never gone there. But apparently he had.

She was already shaking her head before she started speaking, "You don't know what you're suggesting." she protested, "Why can't we just say we're raising her together and leave it at that?" she couldn't go there. She couldn't actually pretend to be in a relationship with Oliver. That was too much. A bubble of manic laughter rose in her chest. Funny how agreeing to raise a child with him seemed reasonable, but this didn't.

"That's what they would expect from me." he countered, "The more they think there's a chance for scandal the more they'll try and create it. If we just look like a normal family we'll get the occasional picture taken by the paparazzi but that's it."

"But...what about...what about if you meet someone? What if I meet someone? What about Laurel? You two are...well, I don't know what you two are, but you're something, don't you owe her some sort of explanation? And your idea sounds like it's so easy, but you really don't know what you're suggesting. I'd have to go to dinners, and galas, and everything else that would be expected of someone you're with. That's a lot of pressure. I know right now this might seem like the right idea, but you're not thinking ahead." his hand came down to grasp hers, and cut off her frantic ramble.

"Felicity," he said evenly, "I'm sure. I've thought about nothing else for days. I told you before. I need you. You're the only person I can really trust. Last year taught me that trying to have a relationship with someone who didn't know all of me wasn't going to work." he left it there, not saying anything else but her thoughts were running rampant.

Was he suggesting...surely not. He couldn't be. He'd never given her any reason to think he'd ever thought of her like that.

She swallowed several times before she answered. "Okay, we'll uh...we'll try it your way. If anything ever changes we can deal with it then."

"Good." he nodded, "I've already had a preliminary talk with them. The team will have ideas for how to best announce it. If we need to do a press conference or an interview. And there may be things we haven't thought about."

All she could do was give him a muted lowering of her head. She felt like she was trying to hold onto the air.

He must have sensed it was better to stay silent. He gave her hand a squeeze and then pushed the covers all the way down in preparation to get out of bed.

With a gasp she realized she'd left him in nothing but his boxers the night before.

He was already sitting on the side of the bed, and leaned down stiffly. When he sat back up he was holding the destroyed remains of his t-shirt. He threw her a look over his shoulder. "Good thing I have plenty."

Felicity sprang from the bed and was around to the other side just as he grabbed his pants. "I can explain." she said hastily

His eyebrow lifted as he gave her an inscrutable look.

"I couldn't get to your wound. The pants were in the way. So I had to take them off. You were unconscious and I didn't know how bad it was. And you're really heavy so it wasn't very easy." she clamped her lips together to stop herself from saying anything else.

"Felicity. It's fine." he said with finality and she stepped back. "Just disappointed I was unconscious for it."

She froze and turned wide eyes on him, knowing she could not have heard him correctly, but by the grin on his face he knew exactly what he said. When her cheeks flushed, his grin got wider.

She chose to ignore him, much like he did when she said things that she shouldn't. Except she said them by accident, and what he'd said had been very much on purpose.

"Do you want me to look at that before I go?" she asked, nodding towards his injury, only having to clear her throat once.

He twisted to pick up Alice, grimacing as he did. "No, I'll take care of it." he replied, standing with her cradled to his chest.

Felicity was only a couple of steps away, and everything suddenly felt like it was too much. "Okay, we'll just go get ready then." she said, reaching out for Alice. "You do want to take her, don't you?"

He handed her over carefully and Felicity couldn't help but feel the little sparks of electricity where ever they touched.

"I think it'll be good if we present a united front."

"Okay. We can do that." she felt nervous and unsure, and didn't know how she was going to make this all work when she was sitting in a room full of strangers.

"Hey, if you're not alright with this..." he began, one hand came up to cup her elbow, then raised to brush over the fading bruise on her neck from the night she'd woken him.

The remorse that crossed his face made her speak.

"I'm good." she assured him, unable to look away at the sudden intensity in his eyes.

A knock at the door made them both jump.

Thea pushed in, one hand clamped over her eyes. "Does everyone have pants on."

"Not exactly." Oliver threw back, clearly irritated at his sister's interruption. He kept his body turned so only his right side was visible.

She peeked through two fingers and then dropped her hand altogether. "God, Ollie, do I need to explain how you ended up with Alice in the first place? Not that Auntie Thea doesn't love you to pieces, munchkin." she said in the direction of the baby.

Oliver just glared, and Felicity took that as her cue to leave.

"What?" Thea asked innocently,

Felicity hadn't made it past the bed when Thea spoke again. "Mr. Diggle called. He said the car would be here at nine to pick you all up. So I had to come find out what was finally getting these two out of the house."

Oliver stepped into his closet and came out with a new shirt on, covering up his bandage, and a suit which he threw across the end of his bed.

"We're meeting with the lawyers and PR team today." he explained

Thea's eyebrows lifted into her hairline, "Oh really? Ready to show this little girl to the real world are we? And Alice too?"

That earned her another glare. He purposely looked at Felicity, "I'll join you when I'm done." he said, and then stalked into the bathroom, the door shutting with a thud.

"No sense of humor." Thea said with a shrug, and then turned an appraising eye on Felicity, "So, what are you wearing?"

"Uh, wh...what?" she stammered, caught off guard.

"You have to have certain looks for certain things. In this case, you'll need to appear professional, composed, and a bit demure. Now, don't get me wrong, you are entirely your own woman, but you're also going to be seen, by unfortunately too many people, as the woman on Oliver's arm. And not only that, the mother of his child. So the yoga pants and stained t-shirt aren't going to cut it." Thea's hand swiped up and down to gesture at Felicity's clothes.

"I didn't really bring much with me, and I haven't had a chance to go back to my apartment." Felicity felt like she needed to defend herself.

"No worries. I'm an expert at knowing what to wear in front of a bunch of stuffy lawyers. Come on." she waved for Felicity to follow and exited the room.

Felicity didn't know what else she could do. Thea was already heading into her own closet when Felicity entered her bedroom.

A few minutes later she returned with three dress thrown over her arm and a pair of shoes in her hand.

"One of these will work." she declared and headed out of the room again. Felicity could only follow in her wake.

They arrived back at the nursery and Thea didn't hesitate to walk into the room Felicity had taken over. She laid the dresses out and then turned. "Light make up, hair down, maybe curl it a little. Minimal jewelry. No rings! The photographers will definitely be looking for that, unless there's something you and Ollie need to tell me. Now, hand over my niece. We're going to spend some quality time together while you get ready."

It wasn't until after she'd passed Alice to Thea that Felicity found her voice. "Thank you, really."

"No problem." she said genuinely, "You two are good for him."

Felicity ducked her head and disappeared into the bathroom.

In a daze she did what she needed to do, following Thea's instructions to a T.

The dresses were varying shades of blue. One had a peter pan collar that she immediately dismissed. One looked like it would look better under a suit jacket, and the third had tiny white polka dots and cinched at the waist.

Felicity eyed it appreciatively. She would have chosen it herself if she could have afforded it. A glance at the label had told her it was designer, and far too expensive for her.

She dropped the dress over her head and smoothed it over her head. The dress did everything Thea said it should do. Felicity slid into the shoes, amazed they fit, and grabbed her bag before stepping into the nursery.

Alice and Thea were sitting in the rocking chair, the baby in a dress she'd never seen before.

"There's your mommy, doesn't she look perfect." Thea said to Alice. It wasn't the first time Thea had referred to Felicity as 'mommy' but it still took her by surprise.

"I am very good at following directions." Felicity told her with a smile.

"Maybe not always." a voice said from the doorway and Felicity turned to see Oliver in a dark navy blue suit and a tie that almost looked like it matched her dress. Slightly flustered she turned a questioning eye to Thea who feigned innocence.

"You look lovely." Oliver said as he approached.

"I give all the credit to your sister. I just did what she told me." Felicity demurred, pushing a fall of hair behind her ear.

His hand came down to coast over her back and she startled. This was starting now, she realized. Their entire charade. The relationship. The announcement. It was go time. Thea had already caught them in his room more than once and had ideas about their status.

It would have been hard to miss the younger woman's coy smile as she arranged a blanket around Alice and walked towards them. "Here you are, she's changed and fed, and ready to go."

Felicity took the baby from her, fingering the soft, white yarn that had clearly been handmade. "Raisa dug it out. Apparently it's been around a while. Every Queen baby for a century has used it. Even you, big brother." Thea explained and then stepped back, cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah, I'm good." she said, as she looked at the three of them.

"Don't move. Let me get a pic." she instructed, and before either Oliver or Felicity could protest she had whipped her phone out.

"Smile!" she said, grinning.

Oliver's hand slid around Felicity's waist. She could feel the heat of his palm through the fabric of her borrowed dress and was helpless to how her stomach flipped. She tipped Alice up a little bit more so her face could be seen and they stood patiently until Thea was finished.

"Perfect." she declared, "I'll send you guys copies."

Oliver stepped away to grab the car seat before he suddenly whipped his head towards his sister. "Don't even think about putting that on instagram or anywhere else for that matter."

Thea gave him an exaggerated pout and huffed, "Fine."

"Don't worry, if she does I can get rid of it." Felicity assured him, enjoying the shock on Thea's face. For once Felicity felt like she had the upper hand.

"Good point. Don't mess with us online. Felicity's the best." he stated and she tried to tramp down the flush of pride that rose within her.

"I said I wouldn't post it." Thea said with only a hint of disappointment and a sigh. "Well, have fun with the suits. I'm meeting Roy, but I'll keep an eye out on twitter for whatever you end up doing." She waggled her fingers before leaving the room.

"Sorry," Oliver apologized as he went to put Alice in her seat.

"No, she's fine. She's great even. She let me borrow this dress and gave me some advice. It was good. I just feel bad...lying to her." Felicity said honestly

Oliver's back stiffened slightly as he finished securing the buckles. "Yeah," was all he said, as he tucked the antique blanket around Alice.

They walked downstairs in silence. Raisa met them at the door with a fully prepared diaper bag.

"Mr. Diggle is waiting." she told them, before smiling down fondly at Alice.

"Ready?" Oliver asked, angling his arm out in open invitation for her to take.

Felicity smoothed her dress one more time and slid her hand into the crook of his elbow. "Ready."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Gotta ratchet up the angst in this chapter because...it's just necessary. Thanks for all the awesome, quality reviews you've been leaving. I love them all. **

**Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to let me know what you think. **

The car ride to Queen Consolidated was mostly silent. Digg had tried to strike up conversation, but after Felicity berated him for letting Oliver go out the night before, and then allowed him to leave when he was injured Digg wisely kept quiet.

She busied herself with checking on Alice or looking nervously out the window. Oliver's hand engulfed hers and gently loosened the grip she had on her skirt, forcing her palm flat, and helping to smooth out the wrinkles she'd made.

When they pulled up in front of the building instead of going through the garage she gave him a quizzical look.

"Trust me." he said, and she nodded.

Digg opened the door and Felicity hurriedly unlatched the car seat to hand it to Oliver who had already climbed out. She slid across the seat and saw him standing there, his empty hand outstretched to help her.

"You ready for this?" he asked one last time,

"I'm ready." she replied, and slipped her hand into his.

When they got near the entrance his hand let go of hers and found the small of her back, only leaving it when he paused to open the door.

There were several curious looks as they passed through the lobby and headed for the executive elevator, but no one stopped them or said anything.

An assistant was waiting when they arrived on the top floor.

"Mr. Queen, they're ready for you." she didn't wait for a response before she turned on her heel and led them to the far conference room.

There were four people already inside. Felicity found herself giving them tight, nervous smiles as she entered.

Oliver greeted them easily, making his way to the end of the table, sitting Alice's seat on the floor before he helped Felicity with her chair.

Introductions were made, but Felicity barely heard the names. Her stomach was flipping, and she just hoped she was able to make it through without rambling.

The older lawyer, whose name she had missed was already talking. She took a deep breath and forced herself to listen to him.

"...few matters we wished to discuss." he said very matter of fact and pulled a file folder from his briefcase.

"As CEO of Queen Consolidated, as well as majority shareholder, and heir to the Queen fortune, it is important to ensure there is no outside influence that could endanger your future. I've taken the liberty of drafting several contracts that should protect your assets." Felicity's breath caught in her throat as she realized what he was suggesting.

"I'm sorry Ms. Smoak, but I'm sure you understand that with a client in a position such as Mr. Queen's we have to do our duty to make sure there isn't any attempt at subterfuge. If we were to request a paternity test, I trust the results would be as expected." he gave her a cold smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Felicity jumped so hard she banged her knee on the underside of the table. Oliver made a low noise under his breath as his hand came over to rest on her leg. There couldn't be a paternity test, or any test for that matter, neither of them would pass it.

"I'm not taking a paternity test. And if you feel the need to push that idea then I will thank you for your service to this company and please ask you to see yourselves out." His voice was cool, and calm, and full of steel.

The elder lawyer blinked his eyes rapidly in confusion, "Mr. Queen, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but we're just looking out for your best interests."

Oliver's hand found hers, "I know where my best interests lie, I hope this matter isn't brought up again."

The lawyer cleared his throat and exchanged a look with his partner, "I presume having Ms. Smoak sign a paper absolving her from any monetary settlements in the future would also be rejected."

Now it was Felicity's turn to calm Oliver down. His hand gripped hers almost painfully, and she didn't need to look at him to know his jaw was locked in anger. She wiggled out of his grip and turned her hand over so they were palm to palm, fingers intwined.

"Mr. Samuels, I feel we need to get a few things straight before we proceed. Alice is my daughter. She is a Queen and as such should be treated like one. Felicity is her mother, and we are together in the fullest sense of the word so you may as well just consider her a Queen as well." Felicity's eyes went wide at his words, and she wondered if he knew what he was saying. "I will not tolerate any insinuations that she is out to steal my money. Am I clear? And if I choose to sign over every last penny of the Queen fortune to Felicity and Alice in the event of my passing I expect that directive to be fulfilled." Oliver's tone was even more biting than before, almost bordering on the voice he used as Green Arrow.

A cold fist surrounded her heart at his words. He risked his life every day, there was always a very real chance he wouldn't come back one night. A rush of noise filled her ears as she considered what that would mean for her and Alice.

His thumb rubbing across her wrist brought her back and she felt all eyes on her. She ducked her head, grateful she'd left her hair down as it provided her some cover until she could look up again.

"Yes sir, Mr. Queen." Samuels said tightly, clearly convinced his client wasn't thinking straight.

His partner cleared his throat anxiously, "Why don't we move on. We've been talking with John and Linda from PR and they feel this will do wonders for your image, which can only help the company. Promoting you as a family man who's settled down, with a young child gives investors a feeling of security. Of course that also come with bigger risks. If for any reason your status should...change, it could, of course, damage the public image of Queen Consolidated."

Felicity had known what they were doing was huge. But it had never gone beyond their personal lives. She had never considered, a week prior, when she'd agreed to do this that the future of a multi-billion dollar international corporation also hung in the balance. And she was certain Oliver hadn't thought that far either.

She turned to look at him, but his face was a mask and she did her best to follow his lead.

John, from PR took that as his cue. "We've scheduled a brief press conference to start in one hour downstairs. Nothing too formal, just a chance to introduce Ms. Smoak and Alice to the world. Other than reading a brief statement you won't need to answer any question unless you want to."

Felicity nodded, not trusting her voice.

Linda, spoke up finally, "Ms. Smoak, you have to know you will be under the highest of scrutiny. The press and the public will have questions for you that will be personal, and invasive. The work Mr. Queen has been doing since the fall of the Glades has endeared him to the people of Starling City and anything less than absolute honesty will not go over well. We want the people to like you. We want them to like you two together, but you're going to have to pull your weight."

Under other circumstances Felicity would have appreciated her blunt nature, but when it was directed at herself it made her want to crawl into a hole and hide.

"Felicity's done nothing wrong." Oliver said immediately in her defense.

"Maybe not, but they are going to ask why you didn't know she was pregnant. They're going to want to know why she didn't tell you about the baby as soon as you returned. On the surface her actions are suspicious, especially since she is still an employee of Queen Consolidated."

"I have nothing to hide." Felicity finally spoke, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as it felt. "Ask me anything."

Linda gave her a nod of appreciation, "We'd like to go over some aspects of this that are most likely to come up during the press conference and immediately after. So, how about we start at the beginning."

Felicity didn't dare look at Oliver, and he stayed silent, trusting her to come up with a story that she felt worked best. She adjusted her glasses and took a deep breath before answering. "I had been helping Oliver with some of the tech work at his club. It was a late night...one thing led to another." she felt her cheeks flame as she spoke, "That was it. Just one night. No hard feelings."

"And when was this?" Linda asked

Felicity did the math quickly in her head, "Approximately three months before the Glades."

"And you never suspected you were pregnant until after Mr. Queen had left the country?" her tone held the slightest bit of disbelief.

"No. It never crossed my mind. By the time I knew about Alice he was gone and there was no way of getting hold of him. I had no idea if he was returning or not, but I always had hope that he would." that was completely true, and she couldn't help looking over at Oliver. His eyes shone with gratitude because he knew exactly what she had meant.

"Alice's birth? You were alone for that?" Linda interjected

"Yes. She was a month early, quite the surprise." Felicity gave a nervous laugh and hoped her lie helped explain Alice's small size, and why Felicity herself hadn't looked pregnant to anyone who remembered seeing her those last few months.

Linda looked surprised at that, "I didn't realize. She's healthy...doctor's are happy with her progress?"

Felicity froze, cursing herself for not fully thinking it through. Also scared to death now that they hadn't had Alice seen by a doctor since they'd had her. Babies needed shots, like puppies, she knew that much and they had no idea of knowing what Alice had or hadn't had before she'd been left.

Oliver must have sensed she was babbling internally, his hand dropped across her back and rubbed soothing circles before he stepped in to save her. "Alice is doing very well. No concerns."

"How did you react when you found out you were a father?" Linda addressed Oliver.

"It was a shock, I won't lie. But getting to reconnect with Felicity and getting to know Alice...made me realize I had been missing something in my life. That's what we've spent the past several weeks doing, learning how to be together, how to be a family." Oliver's tone had adopted the fake, easy quality he usually reserved for parties and other events.

"And how would you describe your current status?"

"We're together. Felicity and Alice have moved in, and we're taking it from there." he answered easily, while Felicity felt like the bottom had dropped out. Did he really think she'd moved in, permanently? Would she have to? Should she?

"Will you be returning to work, Ms. Smoak. You've taken off the past week, but when I looked at your records, you hardly took any time off before then, even when Alice was born."

Felicity blanched. "I...um...I do plan on continuing to work."

"Who will provide Alice's care while you're both working? Do you have a nanny, or will you use the onsite daycare Queen Consolidated provides?"

"The onsite daycare, of course." she answered immediately, to her it made the most sense. The way Oliver shifted next to her made her think he didn't agree.

Linda must not have picked up on it because she had moved on, "Plans to marry or at least become engaged, it would be more permanent, which will only look better."

It was Oliver's turn to balk now. He gave an uncharacteristic sputter, and Felicity didn't dare look at him. "No plans at the present." he finally managed to get out, and she didn't know how to take that.

"I think that's about it then. We'll write this up into a longer release to be handed out. The prepared statement will be much shorter." John stated, and Felicity sat back in relief that this part was almost over.

There were a few more particulars, like who made the dress Felicity wore and the background on Alice's blanket. Felicity didn't know why any of that was important, but Linda assured her it was considered vital information.

The lawyers, who had sat in stony silence finally excused themselves. She was sure they saw her as the downfall of the great Queen dynasty and she couldn't help give a little wave as they passed. Oliver looked at her out the side of his eyes and she just shrugged.

When they were alone she jumped to her feet and placed Alice's seat on top of the conference table. "We should probably feed her. Wouldn't want her freaking out during the press conference. That would look bad. Thea was right, it's all just a presentation; a show." she shook her head in disbelief as she pulled what she needed from the diaper bag. "How do you do this? I mean, you're doing this twice over. You're hiding from the world, but you're also hiding from everyone you know...how do you not trip up? I can barely think ahead far enough to keep my foot out of my mouth and you're juggling more balls than I can count."

She hadn't realized how affected she'd been by the meeting until Oliver slid the bottle from her shaking hand and took Alice from her seat.

He pushed gently on Felicity's shoulder until she was sitting again, and then offered the bottle to Alice who took it greedily.

"I don't hide from everyone." he reminded her. She couldn't help how her eyes flew to his in shock at what she heard in his voice.

They were quiet, both lost in their own thoughts. Felicity kept running through all the ways he'd opened up to her lately and wondered what that could mean.

"I'm sorry about Samuels. He was out of line." he said suddenly.

Felicity shook her head, "He was only doing his job. To everyone else, this..." she gestured back and forth between them, "this just...doesn't add up."

She looked up at him to see a look of genuine confusion on his face, but one he schooled almost immediately. A bolt of something went through her as she added this reaction of his to the list of ways in which he continued to surprise her.

When Alice was done Felicity burped her quickly and checked to make sure she didn't need to be changed. She was in the process of putting her back in the car seat when the PR team came back into the room.

"Oh, don't put her in there. You'll need to be holding her during the press conference." Linda said immediately. She handed Oliver several pieces of paper to review before looking at both of them. "Have you decided if you'll be taking questions?"

Oliver answered immediately, "No, we won't. This release covers the basics, and we may agree to an interview in the future, but for now I'll just read the statement and we'll do a few pictures, nothing more."

"Very well." Linda replied, "They're ready for you downstairs."

"Where has it been set up?" Oliver asked

"Main lobby." Linda stated as she pushed through the door, holding it open for them to follow.

He twisted to grab Alice's car seat. If it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have noticed, but Felicity saw the slight hitch as he turned back, and the flash of pain that went across his eyes.

"Alright?" she asked under her breath.

"Of course." he replied, hand hovering over the small of her back again as they made their way out.

"Don't lie to me." she admonished.

"I'm fine." he insisted and she let it go.

The ride down to the main floor seemed like it was over in a second. She barely had a chance to take a deep breath before Linda said "Showtime." and the doors opened.

"Smile. You'll do fine. And I'm right here the entire time." he whispered into her ear just before they stepped out.

She gave him a small nod, grateful for the support.

When they rounded the corner she could see a small platform had been set up with a bank of microphones and a small stand. A sea of reporters and photographers filled the rest of the lobby.

"Oh, wow." she exhaled, nerves overtaking her.

Oliver's hand found hers and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

Linda stepped forward to introduce Oliver. He helped Felicity onto the platform and gave her a warm smile, a real one, she noted, before he let go of her hand to reach into his breast pocket for the statement.

Oliver read what had been prepared for him, occasionally changing a word here or there he didn't like, but for the most part sticking to the script. Her role was to hold the baby and smile, for which she was grateful. The reporters, and cameras made her nervous. She felt like at any second, someone was going to discover their charade and bring it all down around them.

As soon as he was finished there was a barrage of sound as questions were thrown their way from every direction. Felicity actually flinched and held Alice a bit closer, grateful when Oliver stepped to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist. She was glad they had agreed to not take questions. Numerous pictures she could endure, an interrogation she could not.

If she hadn't been standing so close to him she never would have noticed, but the red stood out against his crisp white shirt. She swallowed a gasp as she realized his wound must have started bleeding again. His suit jacket covered the area, but if he moved or gestured it was going to show, and that's the last thing they needed the press looking in to.

Hoping she looked normal, Felicity eased Alice into the crook of her left arm and turned slightly in to Oliver before reaching her right arm across to lay against his lower left side, effectively trapping the suit jacket under her hand, and not allowing it to open to prying lenses.

He must have thought the action slightly strange because the hand around her waist pulled her in even closer and he dipped his head down to whisper in her ear. "What is it?"

She gave a small smile to the press before she whispered back, "You're bleeding."

He raised his head and settled his hand across hers, making the gesture look completely natural.

"Give us a kiss!" one of the photographers yelled out, his request cheered by several others.

Felicity's back went straight, and the hand Oliver had on her waist tightened. There was a flutter of movement off to the side. Felicity looked over to see Linda gesturing with her hands for them to do it.

Smile still plastered on her face she tipped her head up to look at Oliver. There was something in his eyes she'd never seen before, and just as his head lowered she let fake smile slide off her face, giving him a real one in return.

His lips pressed into hers, sending flares of fire straight to her core, regardless of the number of people that surrounded them. She lifted up slightly, as she felt his hand grasp her waist tighter.

Her thoughts swirled as her stomach flipped deliciously. She was kissing Oliver. And it was more than she ever imagined it could be.

When he pulled back she was shocked to see he looked just as affected as she felt. She turned her face into his chest, giving herself a moment of privacy.

Luckily, Alice decided at that moment that she'd finally had enough. Her loud cries drowned out the press, and a quick look from Oliver had Linda coming forward to call an end to the press conference.

Digg was suddenly on her other side, as they stepped off the platform and began to make their way through the crowd.

A small group of people had already started to gather outside the main doors to Queen Consolidated, and even though Felicity knew exactly how the internet worked it still astounded her how quickly information flowed.

Digg had the car at the curb, as security from the building helped them make their way.

"It's not always going to be like this, is it?" she asked Oliver, slightly breathless.

"It'll die down, and they'll lose interest." he assured her, but she wasn't confident he was right.

Digg had already retrieved Alice's seat and had it installed for which she sent him a grateful look.

Once the door was shut behind them she could hear both her and Oliver's phones alerting constantly.

Alice was strapped in, content for now, and Felicity turned her attention to Oliver.

"Let me see." she ordered, her hands already on his lapel, perfectly able to ignore the fact that they had just kissed. As long as she kept herself distracted she could absolutely forget that had happened.

He looked at her in confusion for a moment before he caught on. "It's fine."

"Let me see." she repeated, voice harder. She pushed the jacket out of the way and loosened his tie, pulling it free of his collar.

She'd undone three buttons of his dress shirt before his hands fell over hers. "Felicity, I've got it." his voice was rough and low and she froze.

She let her hands fall from underneath his, swallowing heavily as he finished undoing his shirt.

He pulled the tail away and she could see where he'd pulled out a few stitches. "You didn't even cover it up." she admonished, pulling the decorative handkerchief from his pocket and using it to press over the wound, taking care not to push too hard.

"That's silk." he protested and she shot him a look over her glasses.

The hand that wasn't holding the cloth had come to rest on his abdomen. It was several moments before she realized. The skin beneath her palm was warm, and when his muscles rippled she couldn't help the way her fingers curled inwards. She didn't dare look up, but she would swear he'd made a noise.

Oliver's phone rang for the fifth time in as many minutes and jolted them both out of wherever they had gone. He took the former pocket square from her, "I think the bleeding has stopped."

She drew back, missing his warmth.

He made quick work of buttoning his shirt and she sat back to pull out her own phone. She had more text messages and email alerts than she cared to count as well as several missed calls.

"Thea keeps asking if she can go ahead and post the picture she took this morning. Claims it's not fair she's being scooped since she had the shot first." his voice was strained.

"Uh, sure, it's all out now...shouldn't matter, right?" Something was happening. Something she didn't understand. She needed normality right then. She needed some semblance of her life back.

"Can we go to the lair. I'd really like to do that. I haven't been in so long there's no telling what you've done to my computers." She tried to sound normal, but by the way Oliver's brows drew together she knew she'd failed.

Digg looked into the rearview mirror for direction and at Oliver's slight nod he made a sharp left to head in towards the Glades.

Everything was just as she'd left it, including all the supplies for Alice. She watched as Oliver carefully transferred the sleeping baby from her seat to her crib without waking her.

As he and Digg headed back to the training room she settled down in front of her computers for what felt like the first time in forever.

An hour later they rejoined her. She railed a bit about how being away had kept her from doing updates the way she liked, but they laughed her off and she turned back to the monitors unable to shake the slightly frantic, uneasy feelings that were growing inside her.

The longer she worked, the more she found her mind wandering. Instead of bringing her peace, being in the lair was doing the opposite. She was hyperaware of his every move, his every word and she felt that at any moment there was a chance she was going to explode.

When she sighed louder than she intended he walked up behind her. "You ready to go home?" He said it so easily. Home. And she knew what he meant. She knew he meant the mansion, all three of them. Not her to her apartment, the place she payed rent on every month. The place where, up until a week ago, she went to every night when she was done helping him fight crime.

But he'd announced to the world today that she was living with him. Not that they were still working it out, or keeping separate spaces for now. He'd told them she had moved in, fully.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked, not intending for it to come out as bitter as it did.

She felt her chair being spun and then she was staring up at him, his eyes narrowed. "What's wrong?"

She gaped at him, open mouthed, not believing he could be so dense.

"Oliver, you are just assuming that I'm ok with giving up my apartment." she said

By the way his brow furrowed she knew he still didn't understand.

"I have friends I occasionally get to hang out with. I do my laundry on Sunday nights and grocery shop Tuesday afternoons. But now I have plants that are dying, and mail that's piled up. I have a backlog on my DVR, and ice cream getting freezer burn. I have a life! Or at least I did. And you think it's nothing for me to _move in_ with you?" she hated the way her voice broke, but she was too far gone to have any sort of control.

"If it's a matter of the rest of your lease I'll pay it." he said immediately and that only angered her more.

With a wave of clarity she realized this had nothing to do with Alice and everything to do with him.

"My god, you really don't get it, do you?" she asked incredulously. "Yes, Alice has changed your life, but in a way she hasn't. It's just one or two more balls for you to throw in the air, and you're getting to be a really good juggler, so it's not that bad. But me, you're asking me to change _everything_, to give up _everything_! It is not easy, Oliver, and...you just make it harder when you-" she stopped herself short before she said too much.

He still stood where he'd stopped when she'd began her tirade, and before he could move she grabbed her bag and headed for the stairs.

"Felicity!" he called out, and she whirled on him.

"Don't even think about trying to stop me right now!" she yelled, running up the remaining steps.

She'd completely forgotten it was a Friday, which meant the club was full of staff getting ready to open. Halfway across the dance floor she remembered she didn't have a car and started digging through her bag for her phone.

"Hey there! You guys look great by the way. You're already all over the big celebrity blogs and plenty of major news sites." Thea said excitedly, shoving her phone in Felicity's face as she approached.

Thea had the cover story of the Starling City Times pulled up, a photo of them from the press conference took up most of the space.

'_A Queen and a Princess'_

That was the headline.

They looked...perfect. Happy, and together, and so right it made her ache inside for something she never even knew she had wanted. And now she had it, but not for the right reasons and not in the right way.

Hands shaking she gave the phone back.

"Hey, are you alright?" Thea asked.

"Um, no not really." Felicity answered.

"Was it something my blockhead of a brother said?"

"No. No, not at all." she lied immediately, knowing she had to protect all their covers. "It was just a bit much and I just need some quiet but I can't get it here, and I can't get it there, and I don't even have a car...Sorry, I don't mean to dump all this on you."

Thea waved her off and touched a hand to the headset she wore during prep in order to keep in touch with all the employees. "Roy, be a love and grab my keys out of my bag will you? I'm on the dance floor."

She turned her attention back to Felicity, "Don't worry about it. You're new to all of this. Eventually it'll become normal, but I totally understand the freak out." Roy approached them from the direction of the bar and held the keys out to Thea.

"Thanks babe." she said with a smile, and then handed the keys to Felicity. "Here, take my car. Go. Escape for a while. Do some retail therapy if necessary."

Felicity shook her head slowly, "No, I couldn't."

But Thea wouldn't take no for an answer. "I insist. Besides, we're practically family, right? It's the least I can do."

Keys clenched tight in her fist Felicity just nodded. "Ok, thanks. I'll take good care of it."

Thea waved her away before returning to her duties as manager.

Felicity drove off, the purr of Thea's much too expensive sports car roared beneath her. She pointed herself in the direction of her apartment and didn't look back.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I don't typically write author's notes like this, but the reaction to the last chapter has given me pause and I think it needs to be addressed. I had several reviews/comments that expressed disappointment and/or displeasure in Felicity leaving Alice at the lair and I feel I need to respond. **

**Why is not okay for her to leave the baby with the MAN who is pretending to be a parent to this child just as much as Felicity is? **

**It's because she's a woman. **

**And our society still thinks that women should shoulder more of the burden when it comes to children. **

**Alice is NOT her daughter. Alice is NOT Oliver's daughter. They have been taking care of this child for one week. One. Week. **

**And yes, Felicity agreed to take on this responsibility, but even parents who have biological children or even adoptive children have time to prepare for said child and try to understand what that means. They had no time. **

**So I do not understand how anyone could be upset with Felicity for leaving the baby with the other person who was just as involved in her care as Felicity was. **

**She left the baby with Oliver AND Digg in, what is probably the safest location in the city. And yet there's a problem with that. **

**My goal as a writer is to write what's real. Regardless of fandom I attempt to write from a point of realism. To show the characters reacting to the things around them in a way that makes sense. Felicity was absolutely justified in feeling the way she did. She's exhausted, stressed, scared, worried, confused, and a whole host of other emotions. But yet, she's not entitled to step away because she's the 'mother'? **

**That's not right. **

**To those reviewers and readers who got it, thank you. **

**This chapter continues with a much needed talk. Enjoy and let me know what you think. **

She was given exactly three hours of alone time before there was a knock on her door.

When she'd arrived at her apartment she'd still been angry, and frustrated, and slightly panicked. A long shower in her own bathroom, and the ability to pull clothes from her own closet calmed her down some. By the time she'd sorted her mail, cleaned out the fridge, and eaten half a container of ice cream she had come down to only being angry.

She also felt out of sorts. And once there was nothing left to actively do she sat on her couch and realized she missed Alice.

That's why when the knock came she was almost grateful. She knew he wasn't going to leave her alone, and she wanted to do this before she devolved from mad to maudlin.

Oliver stood on the other side of the door, hands shoved in his pockets with an unreadable expression. "We weren't finished." he said, as soon as she appeared before him, and the flash of fire that went across his eyes let her know he'd been stewing since she'd left.

Without a word she held the door open and stepped back, allowing him to enter.

"Where's Alice?" she asked immediately when she realized he'd come alone.

"Back at the lair with Digg." at her look he held his hands up, "He offered."

"Probably because you were driving him crazy with your prowling and brooding and he just wanted you out of there." she said before she could stop herself, looking at him out the corner of her eye to see his slight look of surprise.

She led the way into her living room, but didn't take a seat. He stood in the doorway, filling the space and making her suddenly conscious of the fact that he was, indeed, in her apartment.

He didn't even look around, just kept his eyes on her, and she wondered if it was some sort of intimidation tactic. She had no intention of folding. He was in her place, he had come to her, and she had the upper hand.

The standoff continued until he must have decided to lose this battle with hopes of still winning the war.

With an exhale he continued into the room and sat on the edge of the couch. "Do you still want to do this?" he asked quietly, shocking her with the idea that he thought she wanted out.

"Yes, of course." she answered immediately, "But this is a lot to take in."

He nodded gravely, "I know that. I know I asked you to do something that goes beyond partnership or friendship."

She was propelled forward, sinking down to sit only a few inches from him. "I didn't agree to anything I wasn't willing to do." she assured him, "I didn't think through all of it, but neither did you. We both just reacted."

"And now it's becoming real." he finished for her.

"A little too real today." she stated.

He was silent for a long moment. "I meant what I said earlier. I can't do this without you. I don't want to do this without you."

She swallowed heavily and looked down, "Thank you, that means...that means a lot."

"But...moving in. To the mansion. Oliver...I don't know how to respond to that." she knew why she was so nervous about that proposition, but she couldn't tell him. She felt like in the past week alone they'd become so much closer. He'd said and done things she never imagined, but she had no idea where they were coming from. She knew how she felt, but he was still a mystery to her in that regard. If she acted on her feelings and she was wrong it could prove catastrophic for all of them and she couldn't risk it.

Her biggest fear, one that she hadn't even really let herself think about, was that it would become too much for him. She knew he wouldn't run. He'd never abandon Alice. But it was possible his bitterness, and anger of having this life thrust upon him could be turned on Felicity if things got to be too much. She didn't know how she'd survive if she lost him that way. Could they get through the other side of this by staying the way they were, or were they just setting themselves up for disaster.

He was silent still, waiting for her to continue. "I know the public, and the company, and even Thea thinks that we're already living together. But to actually do it...I'm worried things will get complicated." she bit her lip, not meaning to have said it quite like that. She hoped he didn't see through her and know there was so much more she was worried about.

"Maybe there's some sort of compromise. A middle ground." he suggested. When she looked at him all she could see was concern and guilt. "You keep your place. If you ever need a break; an hour, a night, a weekend...you can come here, no questions asked."

The knot of stress in her gut lessened a bit and she felt herself nodding.

"There's a suite of rooms across from the nursery. I'll move down there. You can take one of them and it'll appear that we're..." he didn't finish his sentence, but her cheeks went pink from the implication.

"And how do we hide that from Thea, she already thinks we're...ya know..." she blew stray hair out of her face and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

"We'll deal with that as it comes." he said abruptly

"We can't just deal with everything as it comes. That's what led us to here. I need plans Oliver. Lots and lots of plans. I don't do well without information, you should understand that." the anger she'd pushed aside was making itself known again. She threw herself to her feet and began to pace.

"Are you really telling me you're just fine giving up all relationships? Or are we going to have some sort of arrangement like they did in Victorian times?" she clapped a hand over her eyes as she realized her words made it sound like they had a relationship now. "Not that I wouldn't be fine with that, because it's not like we're involved. We're not. Obviously. And I would have no right to be jealous. It's just it could get confusing...for Alice...in the future. Although maybe by then we could just part amicably. People do that all the time, so...yeah, maybe we just look at it that way. Short term. Short term isn't forever, it's doable, right?" Her previous concerns had crept back in. Would he be happy with her, platonically, for the next however many years? She found that hard to believe. Better to prepare herself now for a way out of it that might not hurt so bad in the end.

She hadn't noticed that he'd gotten up as well. When his hand landed on her arm to stop her she jumped.

"Felicity. Stop. You're getting ahead of yourself. We talked about this before. I'm not looking for anyone el..." he stopped himself and her heart flipped, and she hated it. "I'm not looking for anyone right now, and I don't think I will be for a long time. For now it'll be just a bit of play acting, alright. Nothing you haven't done for undercover work."

She took a deep breath and gave him half a smile. "Right, just like that, except hopefully with less threats to my life."

"I don't know, Alice's cries can be a hazard to your senses at times." he said with forced levity.

She looked at him closely, and considered everything he said. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't have a better plan. She didn't have any other idea to make this work any easier.

"Okay. We'll try it your way." she capitulated. He didn't say anything, but his hand fell down her arm to clasp her fingers, giving them a squeeze.

He let go and took a few steps away. "I'm sure you want to get more of your things together...unless you want to just stay here tonight."

She thought about it, but they didn't need anyone spotting her staying in her apartment alone the night they'd announced everything. "No, it's fine."

"I'll head back over to the lair and spell Digg. Take your time. I'll meet you back at the house." he said carefully,

She walked him to the door, making to shut it behind him when he turned suddenly and pinned her with a look she wouldn't soon forget.

"Oh, and just so you know, I don't regret kissing you."

The hallway outside her door was empty by the time she started breathing again. Muscle memory made her go through the motions of shutting the door and locking it, but she wasn't aware of her actions.

Just when she thought she was good. Just when she thought it was all in her head, or her feelings were one sided he'd go ahead and do something like that, or say he wished he'd been awake when she took his pants off. She had a fairly good idea that he knew exactly what he was doing too.

She pushed away from the door with a heavy sigh. Her bed beckoned, but she couldn't do that. She had to pack more of her things and go back to the mansion.

This time she brought the big suitcase down from the top of her closet and packed more than just clothes. She threw in more of her personal items that she hadn't thought to bring last time, trying not to think about whether they'd ever make their way back.

Before she could think too hard on what she was doing she hauled her things to the parking garage and somehow managed to shove the suitcase into the ridiculously tiny trunk of Thea's car.

The guard at the entrance to the Queen mansion opened the gate upon recognizing the vehicle. She wasn't sure where to park, but she didn't relish having to roll the overstuffed bad across gravel so she pulled up out front.

By the time she'd grabbed her purse and gotten out of the car a member of the house security was already lifting the bag from the trunk.

"Oh, um, thanks. I could have gotten that." she said.

"No problem Ms. Smoak. Would you like me to bring it to Mr. Queen's rooms?" he asked

"Sure..." she drew out, surprised Oliver had already made the move he had talked about only a little bit ago.

She followed him into the house, not seeing anyone as she entered.

"Is Oliver back?" she asked

"Yes. Mr. Queen and his daughter arrived approximately thirty minutes ago." his tone was clipped with military precision, and she knew he wasn't going to offer up any more information than was required of him. In the eyes of the staff she wasn't a family member.

She was silent the rest of the way. When he stepped to the side of the door across from the nursery she paused and then realized to him it would be nothing for her to just walk in to Oliver's room.

Hoping this wouldn't lead to another awkward situation she opened the door and found the main room blessedly empty.

"Thank you. You can just set it anywhere." she said in a rush, grateful she had a few minutes to be alone.

The door closed with a soft click behind him as she looked around. The room looked like a normal living room, although ornately and expensively furnished. There were doors that led off from each side and she headed to the one on the left.

Oliver must have intended for her to have this one as all of her things had already been moved from across the hall. With a sigh she returned to the main room and rolled her suitcase in. She left it in the closet, not having the energy to unpack just then.

Her feet carried her across the hallway. She quietly pushed open the door to the nursery and saw Oliver sitting in the chair with Alice.

"Hey," she whispered carefully as she made her way towards them.

His head turned but he didn't speak.

She crouched next to him so she could see Alice who was oblivious to the tension that swirled around her. She slept peacefully, her little eyelids fluttering occasionally. It was the longest Felicity had been apart from her since they'd had her.

"When it's like this, dark, and just the three of us I think it isn't so hard." she said softly.

"It's the rest of the time when it seems almost impossible." he voiced for her and all she could do was nod over the lump in her throat.

He stood up smoothly and placed Alice in the bassinet. As they looked down on her Felicity felt his hand hover over her lower back. "Good thing we've got experience with impossible." he said into her ear. The way his breath coasted over the shell made her shiver.

They were silent as they exited the room. When they stood facing each other in the suite Felicity suddenly felt nervous.

Oliver broke the silence abruptly. "Our old family pediatrician will do house calls. He'll be by tomorrow morning to see Alice."

"Good!" she exhaled, "When Linda asked if her doctors were happy with her progress I felt like such an idiot! How did we forget that?" her hands clutched in her hair for a moment before smoothing it down.

"I'm sure she's fine. But Dr. Freeman will have a look at her and let us know." he assured her.

"Good, that's...good. I think I'm just going to head to bed now." she said haltingly, gesturing to the door behind her.

"Goodnight, Felicity." he said,

"Goodnight, Oliver." she replied and forced her legs to work.

She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Faint fussing from the baby monitor woke her up, and she was shocked to see sunlight pouring through the windows. A glance at the clock showed it was after eight.

With a jolt she sat up and looked at the monitor again. It hadn't been there when she'd gone to sleep the night before. She picked it up and noticed a note underneath it.

'_Thought you could use the sleep. She ate at 4. I'll be training, back by 9-O' _

She leaned back against the pillows and sighed. He'd gotten barely any sleep. She wondered if she was responsible for that.

Alice's hungry cries made her fling back the covers and make her way across the hall.

"Hello, little one." she said as she leaned over the bassinet. Alice stopped fussing and stared up at her until suddenly her little lips spread into a toothless smile.

"Oh wow. You just smiled. At me. You smiled at me." Felicity couldn't keep the awe out of her voice as she picked her up.

Alice kept up the smiles while she was changed and put in a new outfit. Felicity couldn't seem to help talking in a voice she'd never heard herself use before, but it made the baby happy so she wasn't going to stop.

"Just you wait until you do that to Oliver. You're going to be wrapped around his little finger." she told Alice as she grabbed a blanket and draped it over the baby's back before making they made their way down stairs for the kitchen.

She had just started across the foyer when there was a knock at the door. Felicity froze and turned. The knock came again. Hoping she wasn't stepping out of line she opened the door to find Laurel Lance.

Felicity must have been staring at her open mouthed. She was unable to process why she would be there, and what she could possibly say. She had no idea if Oliver had talked to his ex or not.

"Laurel!" Felicity finally exclaimed, suddenly realizing she'd gone straight from her bed to Alice's room. She hadn't even looked in the mirror. Her glasses were perched haphazardly on her nose, her hair was half pulled back, and she still wore the leggings and t-shirt she'd slept in.

Laurel, of course, looked immaculate.

"I'm sorry to stop by unannounced, but I was on my way in to work." she said with a tight smile, her voice betraying how difficult the situation was for her.

For some reason that actually calmed Felicity down some.

"No, it's fine." she said, and stepped to the side, "Come on in."

Laurel was trying to keep her eyes off the baby and was failing miserably.

Felicity felt a wash of pity come over her. Here was another person being hurt by their lies. But as she looked down at Alice she was reminded of why they were doing it.

"Um, I'm sorry, but Oliver's not in right now." she said

Laurel's face fell some but she recovered quickly. "Oh. Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Soon." Felicity offered a little too enthusiastically. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Soon, he went out early to...check on some things at the office."

Before Laurel could reply however, Alice decided she'd waited much too long for her bottle and announced her displeasure; loudly.

Wincing, Felicity gave the other woman an apologetic look. "Sorry, do you mind, if we just..." she was already heading in the direction of the kitchen, and hoped that Laurel followed.

She heard the heels on the polished marble behind her and blew out a quick breath as she headed for the cabinet where Raisa had cleared space for baby supplies.

Feeling a bit flustered, and only working one handed, Felicity tried her best to concentrate on what she was doing. Alice's red faced screams weren't helping.

When she finally had the bottle prepared and in the hungry mouth she turned back to Laurel who stood awkwardly by the oversized island.

"Sorry." Felicity said again, "She really wanted her breakfast."

Laurel gave her a nod and walked a little closer, finally letting herself look at Alice. "Congratulations, she's really beautiful."

Felicity stopped short and gave a little laugh, at Laurel's quizzical expression she continued. "I think you're the first person who's said that."

"Oh, I'm..." she began but Felicity cut her off,

"Don't worry about it, this...all of this is..." now it was Laurel's turn,

"Unexpected?" she supplied,

"Yes, exactly. Unexpected." she looked down at Alice. When she looked back up she spotted Oliver coming in the from the side entrance. She couldn't help the slight smile that crossed her face when she saw him. "But not unwelcome." she finished.

Laurel pivoted when she saw Felicity's attention had been taken, "Ollie," she breathed out, clearly nervous to see him.

"Laurel, this is a surprise." he said easily, fake grin plastered on his face.

Alice had turned her head when she heard Oliver's voice and gave him the same smile she'd given Felicity that morning.

"Oliver!" Felicity exclaimed, completely forgetting Laurel was in the room, "Look, look, look! She's smiling at you. She did the same thing to me this morning." she couldn't keep the excitement out of her voice.

He crossed the kitchen in three long strides, the sides of his mouth already pulling upwards the closer he got to Alice. She grinned wider once he stood over her, hands waving in the air.

"Hey there, baby girl." he said quietly, in a tone so calm and gentle she almost didn't recognize it as coming from him.

"I told her. I told her she'd only have to do that once and she'd have you right where she wanted you." Felicity joked. The breath caught in her chest when he smiled at her, it was full, and beautiful and she never wanted to forget it.

A sound from behind him reminded them that they weren't alone.

"Laurel, sorry." Oliver said, as he faced her.

For a split second she hadn't been able to school her features, and she looked heartbroken.

A tension settled over the room that they all felt.

"I should go. I shouldn't have intruded." Laurel said hastily as she put her bag over her shoulder.

"No." Felicity said immediately, guilt gnawing at her. "You two should...talk." she turned to Oliver and handed him Alice. "Here, she needs to finish eating and I could really use a shower before the doctor gets here."

He didn't shoot her a look like she thought he might, in fact, he looked a little grateful, and suddenly she wasn't sure how she felt about leaving them to talk.

She stuttered out a goodbye and managed to exit the kitchen without tripping over her feet, self consciousness rising up and taking control of her.

Her mind oscillated between being completely blank and over thinking everything while she was in the shower. She recalled what she had said to Oliver the night before, about relationships, but was now quite sure she knew even then she had been lying to herself.

She was distracted as she got dressed. Grateful she had more of her own things now she chose carefully and took the time to put the rest of her clothes in the closet. With a sigh she looked at the clock and knew she'd wasted enough time as she could.

She could hear Oliver and Laurel's voices as she approached the top of the staircase. Looking down over the railing she observed them. The tension and awkwardness they'd had towards each other earlier was gone. Laurel smiled at something Oliver said and laid her hand on his arm briefly before she turned for the door.

Just before she twisted the handle she looked up and spotted Felicity. "Congratulations, again." she said genuinely, "Take care of them."

Felicity could only nod. Oliver's face was tilted towards her and he gave her a small smirk at Laurel's words. In a rush she realized everything was fine. Whatever she had been worried about wasn't happening, and the rug wasn't about to be pulled out from under her.

She made her way down the stairs and stopped a few steps up so she was almost at eye level with him. "Good talk?"

"Good talk." he said, "I think we've needed to have that talk for over a year."

"So..." she began, not having any idea how to ask him if he'd finally officially ended things with Laurel or where they stood.

"We're going to try being friends. I think that's a better fit for us." he told her. He looked like he wanted to say something else but there was another knock at the door.

"Must be the doctor." he said, turning to open the door.

Suddenly she was extremely nervous. How would they explain Alice's lack of records? And what if he asked questions she should know the answer to? But there was no time to think, Oliver was already greeting the man.

"Hello, Ms. Smoak, was it? I'm Doctor Freeman." He looked to be in his late fifties or early sixties. He held his hand out and she shook it automatically.

"Felicity, please." she answered, "Thank you so much for coming out."

"No problem my dear, I've taken care of Queen babies for almost three decades, can't stop now, can I?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"No, I guess you couldn't." she responded, finding it impossible not to like him.

"Shall we?" he asked, eyebrows raised and looked at Oliver expectantly.

Oliver led the way into a sitting room and waited while the doctor opened his bag to remove a file and some of his instruments. Felicity stepped up to Oliver's side, anxious. A quick glance at him let her see the tautness to his shoulders he was failing to hide.

Dr. Freeman looked up and gave a chuckle. "Relax you two. You'd think I was going to snatch her away from you from the looks on your faces."

Felicity opened her mouth to reply but Oliver must have anticipated her ramble because he interrupted by moving forward. "We just want to make sure she's fine."

The doctor looked at Felicity sideways, "Oliver said the advice at the hospital was to wait on her vaccines because of her small size. Can't say I can argue with that, although it's a bit of a conservative approach."

Felicity's eyebrows lifted, "Yes, uh...yes. That's what they said, and...I was worried, you know, because she's so little. We probably should have taken her in earlier but...things have been a bit..."

Freeman waved her off, "No worries. We'll get her started today. Now, let me see this beauty."

Oliver handed her over obediently. Freeman sat on the couch and laid Alice on the couch next to him, undoing her blanket so he could get a good look at her.

Felicity hadn't realized she'd been twisting her hands together in front of her until Oliver laid a hand over them. "She's okay." he said quietly.

She blew out a breath and let her hands fall to her sides.

Alice seemed perfectly happy to be where she was. Freeman talked to her quietly as he worked.

"And you've recovered well? Your OBGYN has cleared you to resume normal activities, I presume." he said nonchalantly as he continued to look over Alice.

Felicity looked at him in confusion until it struck her that he was addressing _her_, and exactly what he was asking. Face red, and unable to look at Oliver she replied, "Oh, yes. Everything is fine...there...good to go, and working just fine...and no problems what so ever. Dear god someone stop me." she muttered under her breath and turned away, wishing she could rewind and just answer with a simple yes.

"Good, good. Some couples are wary, especially first time parents. But you're young and fit. Nothing to worry about, that's what they're made to do." he scribbled some notes on a sheet of paper, and Felicity was quite sure she was going to die from embarrassment.

Oliver cleared his throat a little too loudly and asked the doctor a question about feeding. Felicity wasn't even sure what the answer was, she was just grateful he'd gotten the man off the subject.

"Everything looks fine. She's small, but a good weight for her size. Exactly what a baby her age should look like." Freeman reported, putting some of his instruments away. Felicity was glad to know the age they'd guess had been close enough to work.

"I'll give her two of the vaccines now, and set up a time to come do the rest." he said as he pulled two vials out of his bag, along with the needles.

"She shouldn't have a reaction to these, but there's always a chance, just keep an eye out." he prepped an area on her leg before drawing the first dose. "I do have to warn you, this is going to be harder on you than on her."

Felicity started forward at Alice's first cry. She was only stopped by the hand Oliver dropped on her shoulder. She looked back to see him almost glaring at the doctor, his jaw set.

They'd never heard Alice cry like that before and it was enough to break Felicity's heart.

"There we are. You can have her back now, mommy." Freeman said and Felicity didn't have to be told twice. She flew the final few steps and scooped Alice up, rubbing her back and making shushing noises in her ear. Oliver was right behind her, one of his large hands cupping Alice's tiny head as she cried.

Freeman waited until Alice had snuggled in to Felicity's chest, crying herself to sleep.

"The next ones won't be so bad. I promise." he said kindly, as he grabbed his bag and made for the door.

Oliver went to shake his hand and thank him for coming.

Felicity wasn't even aware of them leaving. She walked about the room, swaying slightly as she ran her fingers over Alice's silky hair. She looked up finally to see Oliver leaning in the doorway, studying her.

"That was horrible." she said flatly, and he just nodded as he pushed himself off the frame and crossed the floor to where she stood.

They were quiet for a long while, both lost in their own thoughts and unable to look away from the sleeping baby.

"She reminds me of Tommy, every time I look at her." he said suddenly, his voice strained.

Her eyes flew to his, startled he'd made such an admission.

"I'm sorry," she said, but he was already shaking his head like he had anticipated she would say that.

"No, it's okay. She's a good reminder. I had over twenty years of good memories with him, I should focus on that."

Felicity gave him a tight smile, worried she wouldn't be able to speak without tripping over her words. "I think...I think that sounds like a very good idea."

She brushed a hand over his arm as she moved past him.

As she made her way up the steps to put Alice down a tiny sliver of hope worked it's way inside her. She thought that maybe they had a chance.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Seriously. Amazed by the reaction to the last chapter. The support is astounding. You all are the best. Hugs to everyone. **

**This chapter has a bit of a time jump. About four weeks or so. I think you'll be pleased with where it's going. I'm really happy with this one. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

They fell into an almost comfortable rhythm. Alice would spend her days at the onsite childcare at Queen Consolidated, allowing Felicity and Oliver to still work and yet see her anytime they wanted. In the evening she was content to be with them in the lair, although Thea had grown somewhat suspicious as to what kept them out late almost every day. Luckily with her working at the club most nights it usually wasn't a problem.

Any worries she'd had about Oliver wanting another relationship had been shot down. They were both too busy and too tired to even think about that. There was enough trouble keeping up the appearance of their fake relationship. Starting another one made no sense.

The shared suite seemed to be working. Thea had smiled smugly when Oliver told her he'd moved before making a crude comment about being grateful because she was sure she couldn't hear any noise if they were in the east wing.

There were plenty of nights where they'd end up in his bed, feeding Alice or playing with her until she got tired while they went over files or plans Felicity had pulled up on her tablet, or the numerous baby websites she'd bookmarked for advice.

More than once she'd woken up in the early hours to find he'd put Alice to bed but left Felicity where she'd fallen asleep. The California King was big enough they didn't touch, and she half wondered if he slept better with her there.

The mornings were never awkward, usually because he was already out of bed by the time she woke up. The one time he hadn't been they'd stared at each other for a long while before she slowly slipped away.

There had been some issues at work. Felicity had walked into the ladies room three days after she'd returned and overheard a conversation she shouldn't have. The women were quite sure she'd tricked Oliver into sleeping with him and had gotten pregnant on purpose.

She'd walked out feeling angry and upset, which is how Oliver had found her, slamming sales projections onto a conference table with more force than necessary. He'd made her talk, and then demanded the names of the women but she wouldn't tell him. They weren't the only ones who thought that. The papers had gone there too. She shrugged it off and said the only ones the truth matter to were the two of them.

It had been easy to not play a couple at work because they were trying to present themselves as professionally as possible. Although she had found that Oliver's hand and the small of her back seemed to have been magnetized whenever they walked anywhere together. Not that she was complaining.

At home it had been more difficult. Thea expected a happy couple. There were hugs and an occasional kiss on the cheek if one of them was leaving without the other. He'd even done it once when Thea wasn't around and caught himself as he was walking out the door. It would have been a priceless image if she hadn't been so shocked herself.

They'd made it work for over a month. By best guess and what they could get the doctor to say without making it sound like they didn't know how old their child was, they thought Alice was about three and a half months old and thriving.

Felicity was getting ready for work one morning when Thea came bursting into her bathroom.

" 'Lis! We've got to go shopping this weekend." she screeched, waving a cream colored envelope so quickly Felicity couldn't make anything out.

"What are you talking about, and don't call me that." Felicity said, with no actual hopes that Thea would comply. The shrug she gave before she opened the envelope confirmed Felicity's thoughts.

"This is an invitation to _the_ gala to end all galas. We get invited every year, and usually just Mom and Walter attended, but this year..._you_ get to go with Ollie!" she handed the invitation over and clapped her hands enthusiastically.

"Gets to go where with Ollie?" The man himself asked, as he exited his closet and crossed the main room, towel tied around his hips.

"The invitation to the Mayfield gala arrived. I was just telling 'Lis she needs to be ready to shop until she drops because all eyes are going to be on her as your new lady love." Thea missed the wide eyed stare of panic Felicity shot Oliver in the mirror.

"Speedy, I don't even know if we're going." he said noncommittally

"You have to go. You're CEO of the company, you don't have a choice." she stated matter of fact.

"Well figure it out later, okay." he said, already guiding her towards the door.

Thea rolled her eyes, "Don't think I'm going to give up. You're going to that party." she said, her final words louder as he shut the door on her.

Oliver gave Felicity a look of apology as he turned and headed back to his closet. She tried not to follow him with her eyes but it was difficult. It wasn't like she didn't see him without a shirt on when he trained, but there was something infinitely more intimate about him walking around with just a towel on while she curled her hair and put on make up. Over the weeks he had become more at ease with things like that and she wondered if he even noticed the change, because she certainly had.

"She's right though. We really can't get out of this event." he stated, as he walked back in, finishing the buttons on his shirt.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" she asked, feeling nervous of the prospect of having to represent the company and him at such a major function.

"It really is. You'll do fine though." he slid his tie around his collar and reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet.

"Here," he said, handing her a black AmEx card. "Get whatever you want. Thea will know what's best."

She took the card automatically but couldn't stop the anger that welled within her. "No." she said defiantly and shoved it back his direction. He looked at her in complete confusion.

"Why is your first reaction always to just throw money at the problem? Paying my lease, lending me your black card, and, lets not forget my personal favorite, depositing a million dollars in my bank account before you disappear for five months!" she said all in a rush, feeling the flush crawl up her chest and neck as she expelled something she'd held onto for months.

They'd never talked about it. Not once. She knew he was aware that she'd used the money he left to redo the lair, but he'd never mentioned it, and neither had she.

"It makes me feel cheap. It makes me feel like you-"

His eyes darkened, effectively shutting her up. "Did you ever consider that maybe I do this because it's my way of fixing things. You wouldn't need to pay for an apartment you don't live in if it wasn't for me. You wouldn't need a dress worth three months of your salary if it wasn't for me. You wouldn't need to be protected, if it wasn't for me!"

All the fight left her at his words. "Oliver...I'm sorry...I didn't." she stopped herself, and looked down at the mascara wand she held in her hands before she brought her eyes back to his. "I shouldn't have just assumed. All of this is...I'm just not used to it." she said with a look around the lavish space.

"It's just stuff." he said, his tone calmer, but still tight. "It doesn't actually mean anything."

"It might not mean anything to you, but it means something to the people who go to these parties. It means something to the people who are going to be studying me like a specimen in a lab waiting for me to do something noteworthy. I'm sure I will drop a crab cake all over my dress or spill champagne on your suit, or step on your toes, or..."

His hands lightly grabbed her arms and halted her ramble. He looked down at her, another three inches of height between them since she didn't have her heels on yet. "My toes can handle it, trust me."

"Okay." she replied, starting to feel flustered from how close they were.

"Now, are you going to take the card, or not?" he asked with a challenge in his voice.

She never knew what possessed her, but she gave him a wicked grin and lifted on her toes before she slowly slid the card from his hand, their fingers brushing together for a long second. "I'll take the card." she breathed into his ear and turned on the spot, not stopping until she was once again in the bathroom with the mascara wand on her lashes like she hadn't just done _that._

She risked a look in the mirror to see if she could spot his reaction but he was already heading towards his room, although she could have sworn she saw him flex his hand as he walked away.

True to her word Thea drug her out first thing that Saturday morning. She'd already called ahead and made them appointments, something Felicity had never experienced before. They were served champagne while models, actual models, showed them different dresses.

Thea had insisted this designer was perfect for Felicity's body type. She watched as one gorgeous dress after another was paraded in front of them. She would have been delighted to wear any one of them but it was the sixth one that made her sit up.

Thea spotted her reaction immediately and motioned to the assistant.

The model came closer and Felicity could now tell that instead of black, the color was actually a deep, dark, green. Thin tiny straps ran all the way down to almost the waist where there was a lovely rouched panel, but it left the back almost completely bare. The front was more conservative, the vee cut not too low and the skirt flared to the floor in elegant folds.

"You love it, don't you?" Thea asked with glee in her voice.

"It's gorgeous." Felicity answered.

"She'll try it on." Thea said decisively and the model disappeared.

The next thing Felicity knew she was being whisked into a dressing room where she was helped into the gown.

Thea's eyes went wide when Felicity stepped out. "Wow! Ollie's going to...just wow. That dress was made for you, seriously."

When Felicity saw herself in the mirror she had to agree with Thea.

She spent the next several hours standing for alterations. They assured her it would be ready before the gala.

She'd thought they were done, but Thea had made lunch reservations. And then there was shopping for shoes, and the right undergarments. When Felicity pointed out the dress had no back and she wouldn't need a bra Thea had grinned evilly and convinced her to buy a $200 thong. As she slid the black AmEx across the counter for the fourth time that day she wondered what world she'd stumbled into.

Felicity wearily punched in her code to the lair and slowly went down the stairs. Digg put a finger to his lips when she came around the corner, Alice was asleep in his arms and she couldn't help but smile.

"Good day?" she whispered and he nodded.

He motioned towards the training room with his head, letting her know that's where Oliver was.

She pushed the door open and barely glanced around. She could hear the rhythmic metal thwang and knew he was on the salmon ladder. With a grunt she laid down on the training mat and toed her boots off. She'd worn them because they were the most expensive ones she owned and she didn't want the people at the stores Thea took her to look down on her. But they were almost half a size too small and now her feet were killing her.

One hand was draped over her forehead, the other lay loose across her stomach. She was enjoying just being still.

"Rough day?" he asked, halfway up the ladder.

"Your sister should be a professional shopper. That should be her job. She should get paid to spend money." Felicity said without opening her eyes.

"I thought that's what she did." he deadpanned, never breaking rhythm. "Did you get what you needed?"

"Yes. A dress, that I never even actually saw the price for. I hope you meant it when you said to get anything. Then we had to go shoe shopping. And lunch. You paid by the way." she informed him before stifling a groan as she curled her toes into the mat beneath her. "My feet are killing me. I didn't know there would be so much walking, and standing, and...standing. It took two hours for the fitting. And I have to go back for another one next week. It's absurd. I know that card has a spending limit that's higher than some country's GDP, but seriously, how does $200 for a thong make any sense? It's a scrap of fabric. And this one was lace, so it's not even solid fabric, it's all see through, I don't even know if that-"

There was crashing sound and she sat up quickly to see Oliver picking himself up from the ground, the bar for the ladder clenched in his fist.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked immediately.

He didn't turn around when he answered, "Maybe, in the future, you don't talk about lace thongs when a man's trying to concentrate." he said between gritted teeth.

Her cheeks flushed red as she recalled what she'd said.

"Sorry," she said meekly, deciding to resume her position and pretend like she hadn't just sent the scariest man in the city falling to his knees because she was talking about a lace thong. That _Oliver_ hadn't just fallen off the salmon ladder because of what she'd said. A swell of satisfaction rose up within her and there was a tiny smirk on her face she couldn't erase.

She listened as he put the bar back where it belonged and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"How was Alice?" she asked, hoping to turn the conversation back to something less explosive.

He was silent and she wondered if he was upset with her. When there was a touch on her foot she yelped and pushed herself up on her elbows to see him sitting by her feet. She'd never heard him approach.

"Alice was good. Digg's some sort of baby whisperer. All he has to do is hold her or speak and she just stares at him, quiet as she can be." As he talked he took her foot in his hand began to rub it.

She stared at him in shock and bit her lip to keep a moan from slipping out as his knuckles rubbed over one particularly painful spot.

"That's...that's good." she said breathlessly, hating how affected she sounded. The little uplift at the corner of Oliver's mouth let her know he'd heard it too.

"Those searches you were running on Bererra's thugs came back. Digg looked over them but you might want to take a peek when you get a chance." he was using both hands now and when she groaned he froze.

She peeked through her lashes and saw how dark his eyes had become, she wasn't sure either of them were breathing.

Slowly she slipped her foot from his hand and stood up. "I'll just...I'm just going to go look over the searches now." her heart beat wildly in her chest. It took all her concentration to bend over and pick up her shoes and make her way across the floor without tripping. Or turning around to look back.

They ignored the foot rubbing incident. By the time Oliver emerged from the back Felicity felt like she had returned to her body. It was time to get Alice home to bed anyways.

Felicity suffered through the second fitting a week later. Thea had gone with her again, and insisted on lunch again, but Felicity had drawn the line at any more shopping.

The day of the gala drew nearer and she was shocked when Thea presented her with an itinerary the night before.

"What's this?" she asked in confusion.

"It's your schedule for tomorrow. I took it from one of my mother's old appointment books and made a few changes, but that should work." Thea explained like she was talking to a small child.

"A schedule? I need a schedule? Why do I need a schedule?" Felicity asked, fluttery panicked feelings began to make themselves known.

"Relax. For an event like this it's an all day affair to get you ready. Just sit back, and enjoy the pampering."

Felicity looked closer at the paper and practically screeched, "A massage? An aromatherapy session? Thirty minutes set aside for my 'perfectly crafted juice blend'! Thea, this is...absurd. And please don't tell me all I get to have tomorrow is juice!"

Thea just raised her eyebrows and gave her a look, "This is how the insanely rich live, 'Lis, get used to it. And you have to fit into that dress. That very unforgiving dress, I might add, which is cut in such a way that does not allow for Spanx. So yes, you get juice tomorrow. Now, I suggest you get some sleep because the manicurist will be here at eight sharp."

Felicity had, of course, barely slept a wink.

Oliver knocked on her door at quarter to eight, Alice already in his arms. Thea had begged them to let her watch Alice while they were gone and they finally relented when Raisa had surreptitiously mentioned that she'd be around all night if needed.

Felicity hardly had time to go to the bathroom and slip into the robe Thea had left for her. The next thing she knew Thea was there whisking her to an unused guest room that had turned into a staging area worthy of a military ground strike.

Her life was no longer her own. For the next nine hours she was buffed, steamed, lotioned, filed, painted, waxed, coiffed, and made up. She was also allowed unlimited juice and water which just made her glare at Thea every time she took a sip.

"I don't think you understand what happens when I get hungry." she warned the girl.

Thea just shrugged, "Not my problem. And they'll be food there, you just won't be able to eat much of it."

That only made Felicity glare harder.

At six she was directed into the bathroom and told not to mess anything up as she got dressed. Her hair was up in a sweeping loop that didn't seem physically possible. And her makeup had never been that good before.

She slid on her $200 lace thong and had to gulp at the memory of Oliver falling off the salmon ladder and then rubbing her feet in retaliation.

An assistant from the designer knocked on the door and asked if she was ready for the dress. With a sigh, and the acknowledgement that she'd given up any sense of modesty she responded that she was.

The fit was still as amazing as it had been in the store. She slid into the shoes and stepped out of the bathroom to honest to god applause, led by Thea.

"Amazing, really, 'Lis. You're a bombshell." Thea said. "Now, you've got to hurry up." she said, handing her a clutch that already held her phone, a lipstick, and a few hairpins. "You're running a bit behind. Mr. Diggle has the limo pulled up out front already and Oliver's downstairs waiting for you."

"Like a prom date?" she asked and Thea laughed.

"No corsages." she promised.

"Wait!" Felicity said suddenly, shocked that out of everything that had been done to and for her today no one had anticipated this. "I don't have any jewelry on. I can't go to this thing like that, can I?"

Thea gave her a knowing smirk and opened her palm. Long, drop, art deco style diamond earrings sat there, glinting at her. "You didn't actually think I'd forgotten the final touch, did you?"

Felicity picked them carefully and slid them on. "I don't want to know how much these are worth, do I?"

"No, you do not." Thea confirmed, "But you should know that Mr. Diggle has been instructed to protect your jewels more than my brother for this evening only."

Felicity gulped, "No pressure." she said flatly and then turned back to Thea, "What about a necklace?"

"Come on, it's time to go." Thea said, waving her out the door and ignoring her question.

Raisa met them in the hallway, Alice in her arms. Thea went to her immediately and scooped her up. "Hey there, Alice, look how pretty Mommy looks." she said in a sing song voice. "She's about to knock daddy's socks off."

She went to reach for Alice but Thea batted her hand away, "You do not want to find out what I will do to you if she spits up on that dress." she said in a voice more serious than any Felicity had ever heard her use before.

As they headed for the staircase a flock of butterflies took up residence in her stomach. When she reached the top she looked down to see Oliver pacing the foyer, his hands behind his back. He was turned away from them and Thea had to call his name to get him to look.

She'd swear, for years to come, that in that moment the world had tunneled down to just the two of them. His jaw actually dropped and that gave her the courage to lay a hand on the banister and make her way down.

The tuxedo he wore fit him like a second skin, and had been cut to accentuate his physique. He'd gone for the classic bow tie look and she liked it.

When she got to the bottom she let out a breath and gave him a shaky smile. "This, apparently takes nine hours to make." she joked as she swept a hand over herself.

"You look amazing." he finally said, his voice very different than it usually was.

"Thanks, you...that suit...it's good. Really good." she began to bite her lip and remembered at the last second that the make up artist would probably rap her knuckles if she did.

He brought his hands to the front and she saw he was holding a box.

"Here," he said, a little too excitedly for him. "Thea told me the color of your dress, I highly approve, by the way." he said with smirk, "And I ran by the vault the other day to get this."

The vault.

The words echoed in her head and she had no idea what could lay in that box.

He opened it slowly and she couldn't contain the gasp she let out when she saw it.

It was an emerald and diamond necklace. It wasn't too ostentatious, or gaudy. But it was very very expensive.

He took the necklace from it's satin lined home which he sat to the side before he motioned for her to turn around. As his arms enveloped her to loop the necklace around her throat she hoped he couldn't see how fast her heart was beating.

The cool weight settled over her collar bone and she couldn't stop the shiver that went through her when his fingers brushed her neck as he fastened it.

When he was done his hands cupped her shoulders, sending fire through her veins straight to her core.

He stepped back and she turned around. She lifted a shaky hand to touch it, "It's so heavy." she commented and he smiled.

"It's been in the family for almost seventy years. Story is my great grandfather bought it for his wife when he asked her to marry him." Oliver said with a smile which only got broader when she gasped again.

"Haven't you people ever heard of engagement rings?" she muttered, unable to stop touching the piece. "It feels even heavier now."

He took her hand in his and leaned in so only she could hear his next words. "It's the only emeralds we own." When her eyes lifted to his she could see how dark they were. "I may have to change that."

Before she could even try to get her brain working Thea made her way down the stairs, Alice in her arms.

"I do good work, do I not, brother dear?" she teased.

"You do excellent work." he confirmed, his voice clearly deeper than he had intended by the slightly surprised look on his face.

Thea laughed at his plight, "I told you Daddy was going to have his socks knocked off, didn't I?" she said to Alice who was grinning at her. "Auntie Thea is a genius. Yes she is."

"Alright, Speedy, maybe you can save the brainwashing until we're out the door." he half scowled and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Hey, don't teach her that."

Felicity turned and looked at Alice and Thea, "Remember, she'll probably eat twice more before she's down for her long sleep. But you should put her in her pajamas before the last one in case she falls asleep. If she makes that one funny cry that's kind of interrupted it's because she wants to be walked."

"Rocking won't work." Oliver interjected and Felicity nodded, "And walking in circles is better than pacing."

"A ten meter diameter seems to work best, but..." she trailed off as she realized Thea was looking at her like she had truly lost her mind.

"We've got it. How hard can it be?" she scoffed.

"Don't say that!" both Oliver and Felicity yelled at the same time.

Thea rolled her eyes and turned Alice so she was facing them, "Tell Mommy and Daddy have fun, and stay out as late as you want, and don't worry."

"Bye." Felicity waved,

"Bye, baby girl." Oliver said and reached towards her, but Thea pulled her back.

"Armani." she said with a look towards his jacket and shook her head no.

Oliver let out an exasperated sigh and shot her a glare, "Call us or Digg if there's a problem."

"We'll be fine. Now leave, we have plans." Thea said, shooing them out the door.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Oliver stated as he held his arm out for Felicity to take.

Digg was waiting patiently on the steps, looking quite handsome in his tux, and did a double take when she stepped out.

"Wow." was all he said and she blushed.

"Nine hours, Digg. Nine. Hours." she commented as he opened the door and gave her his hand so she could slide in. "And all I've had was juice today." she caught the look he exchanged with Oliver, they both knew how she got when she was hungry.

"Glad she's not my date tonight, man. Good luck." Digg said as he shut the door behind them.

It was a twenty minute drive and Felicity tried to sit as still as possible as to not wrinkle the dress or damage anything on herself before they got there.

"You okay?" Oliver asked and she gave him a tight smile,

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just...incredibly nervous and worried I'm going to make a complete fool of us both. So...fine."

"Just be yourself." he advised and she scoffed.

"That's not what those people want. They want someone they know. They want someone poised and elegant, who knows when to stop talking, and say the right thing. Who can wear a dress like this like they've done it all their life." she paused as a thought suddenly struck her and she couldn't stop herself from continuing. "They want someone like Laurel."

Her name rang in the open space of the limo and Felicity would have given anything to be able to rewind the last few seconds.

Oliver's head tilted to the side and his brow furrowed before he spoke. "Laurel's not here right now. You are. And you're here because _I_ want you here."

"Okay," she agreed softly, her fingers itching to do something, but every time she touched the fabric of her dress she could hear Thea yelling at her.

Oliver's hand slid over hers and pulled it down to lay between them. They rode the rest of the way with his thumb stroking over her knuckles.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks again for the reviews and support for this story. I'm actually really really glad you guys strong armed me into continuing it. **

**This chapter continues with the gala and then there is another small time jump. **

**And then...I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry. **

The gala was being held at the art museum which meant a red carpet and photographers, and maybe even a few camera crews. Thea had prepped her on what to expect, but as Digg joined the line of limos slowly rolling forward she saw huge spot lights and a crowd of people and began to panic.

"I can't do this. This is insane. People like me don't do things like this." she said, slightly frantic.

"Felicity." Oliver said sharply, but it drew her from her freak out. "You can do this. You counted cards at an underground casino. You can handle one gala."

His words had the desired effect and she felt herself coming back down. "Just promise you won't leave my side, okay."

"Promise." he vowed, and she knew he wouldn't break it.

Digg put the car in park and looked back at them. "You ready?"

Oliver nodded and the next thing she knew the door was being opened.

A cacophony of noise greeted them. Oliver got out first, casually buttoning his suit jacket and giving a small wave to the crowd. When she saw his hand extend back into the car she took the deepest breath she could in the dress and slid out carefully.

He took her weight and helped keep her balanced, somehow knowing her knees were going to be shaky.

Oliver led her a few steps onto the carpet and then wrapped his arm around her waist, his thumb beginning to rub across the bare skin he found. She shivered so hard he felt it.

His head dipped down near hers, "Smile, walk slowly, and tell them who made your dress when they ask. That's all you have to do and we'll be inside before you know it."

She gave him a nod and plastered on a smile she hoped looked real.

Photographers were calling their names from every direction. She took Oliver's lead for which one she should be looking at. The lights were blinding, and it took everything in her not to squint. Oliver made it look easy, but he'd been doing this a lot longer than she had.

A few of the photographers asked her to turn around so they could get shots of her dress. Oliver obliged them by stepping to the side. She turned obediently and looked back over her shoulder, not missing the heated gaze he leveled her with.

The rest of the line was a blur. Oliver couldn't seem to keep his hand from touching every inch of her back, and she wondered if he even knew what he was doing. It felt like flames licking against her skin and she didn't know how she would survive the night.

Someone asked them to step closer together and he pulled her in tighter, his hand now curling around her rib cage, his fingertips actually dipping under the thin fabric that ran along her side. It was an extremely intimate act and every nerve ending was frizzing with sensation.

Her breath caught in her throat when his thumb stroked up slowly, coming a hairsbreadth from skimming along the side of her breast. "Oliver," she said low and took a tiny step to her left, hoping to break some of the contact.

His hand froze and then fell down some, his fingers now on the outside of her dress. He hadn't even known what he'd done.

A few minutes later they had successfully made it inside the museum and she took a moment to look around, not caring what she looked like. Oliver laughed lightly and took her by the elbow, making sure she didn't run into anyone or anything.

"This is amazing." she said in wonder, craning her neck to look up. "Can we come again next year?" Not caring that she sounded like a little kid asking to go back to the amusement park.

When Oliver didn't answer she dropped her head and looked at him in confusion, then remembered what she'd said. "Oh, god, sorry. I didn't mean to presume, just...forget I said anything." she stammered.

"We can come again next year." he said deliberately, and she couldn't look away. "For now, just enjoy yourself."

He snagged them two glasses of champagne and she spotted the waiters passing around hor d'oeuvres. "Oh, can we...I'm starving." she said a little louder than she should have, causing the couple in front of them to turn. She gave them a little smile and wave in return.

Oliver directed them towards the food where she restrained herself per Thea's orders and tried very very hard not to drop anything on her dress. She was introduced to so many people she stopped trying to remember all their names. Oliver got pulled into a few business discussions, and she even added her opinion a time or two causing him to look at her with pride, especially when it countered what the person they were talking to was saying.

They had walked into a mostly empty gallery, and she enjoyed the momentary respite. "Almost feels weird being this dressed up without a comm link in my ear." she said cheekily, overjoyed at the broad, genuine grin that spread across his face.

That was the picture the one photographer permitted inside the event had captured, and the picture that would be splashed on every news and tabloid site the next morning. Her with her head tilted back, grinning almost coquettishly, while he had his body turned towards her like they were the only people in the room, smiling down at her upturned face.

"I'd by lying if I hadn't had the same thought." he admitted, she grinned back and slid her hand into his elbow as they made their way into the main ballroom.

Dinner was a seven course sit down affair. White gloved waiters served the food. There were wine pairings with each dish, which she only sipped since she feared becoming drunk and making an even bigger fool of herself than she could do sober.

The table they were at held most of the Starling City elite including the mayor, the museum director, and the police commissioner. Felicity had to stifle a smile that they had no idea they were dining with Green Arrow. Oliver's hand fell to her knee and gave it a squeeze. She exchanged a glance with him and saw he had thought the same.

"It's so nice to see a young couple so much in love." the wife of the museum director said suddenly, and Felicity looked up to see she was talking to them.

She choked on the food in her mouth and held her napkin up to cover her coughing. Oliver's hand across her shoulders didn't help. He slid her water glass over and turned a charming smile on the woman across from them.

"Thank you," he said simply,

"How is that darling little girl of yours?" she asked

"She's doing well, thank you for asking." by the time the conversation was over Felicity could breathe again, although she was sure her face was still red.

Dinner was followed by dancing. And when the host announced that they would be led by their biggest benefactor she was shell shocked as Oliver towed her to the middle of the floor.

"I'm going to kill you." she muttered under her breath. He just chuckled at her distress.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" she asked, trying to keep a smile on her face as he took one hand in his and splayed the other across her back, pulling her into him.

The music started and he looked down at her, "I may have had some advance notice." he admitted.

"Paybacks are a bitch, Queen. Just remember that." she threatened.

"I look forward to it." he said into her ear, making her tremble and she hated that he could feel it.

Just before they started to move she looked at him in earnest, "Oliver, you should know, I am a terrible dancer."

"I told you, my toes can handle it." he reminded her, and then they were dancing.

Her body followed his, the subtle pressure of his fingers letting her know which direction they were going and she never once felt like she was about to make a fool of herself.

When half the song was over the rest of the floor was opened up and she didn't feel quite so anxious.

"You're a very good dancer." she observed

"You're a very good partner." he returned, and she knew he didn't just mean on the dance floor.

As the night wore on she found herself actually having a good time. She danced with the mayor and a few other people who seemed to find her charming and not ridiculous. Oliver manage to avoid dancing with anyone else.

When the son of a local congressmen stepped in she was surprised. She could smell the liquor on his breath and gave him a weak smile, hoping she could get out of this as soon as possible.

When his palm ran down her back to rest at the top of her ass she suddenly felt Oliver's hand on her arm, pulling her towards him.

"Excuse me." he said, his voice deadly low. "But we need to call and check on our daughter." He had effectively pulled Felicity completely away from the lout, his arm wrapped securely around her waist.

As they walked away she leaned into him a bit, "Thanks for the save, Green Arrow." she teased, but when she looked over at him she was surprised to see his jaw still clenched and a look in his eyes like he was about to take someone out.

"Oliver..." she began but he stopped suddenly and spun her around to face him, his fingers coasting over the sensitive flesh inside her elbow.

"I didn't like him touching you." he practically growled and she audibly gasped.

"Wh..." she didn't get any further because Oliver's name was called from behind them. With great effort he put on his fake smile and let his hand fall down to capture hers as he turned.

Oliver talked with the man for several minutes while she stood mutely by his side, trying to make sense of what had happened.

When the man left Oliver guided her past the dessert table where she picked up a cheesecake in a shotglass that was finished in two bites.

Still feeling unnerved she hesitated saying anything, and Oliver never brought it back up again.

His hand was once again trailing across her back as they said their goodbyes. Everyone said it had been a pleasure to meet her, and there were a few she actually believed.

When they were back inside the limo she sank into the leather with a long sigh and waited for Digg to get in the driver's seat.

"Digg, I swear, if you do not take this limo straight to Big Belly Burger I will change the code to the lair on you everyday for a month." she threatened as her stomach growled.

"Why don't rich people eat?" she whined, hating how her heart flipped when Oliver grinned at her like that.

"We eat." he said,

"Not at parties like that you don't." she retorted.

Digg lowered the divider all the way, and looked back. "Burgers?"

"Digg!" she barked, "Don't toy with me!"

He just chuckled and pulled away from the curb. "There's a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge. I figured you earned it after tonight."

"You're a god among men, Digg, I've always said that." she replied happily. Now that the gala was over she felt she could risk having more than a few sips.

She took her shoes off and slung her legs across Oliver's lap as she poured each of them a glass. She handed him one and then sat back, "You never got around to the right one last time." she said with a challenging smirk, knowing that for once she'd surprised him.

His head tilted slightly, like a nod in a duel and she suddenly wondered if she was going to regret this choice.

Without ever averting his eyes he sat the champagne in the holder and pushed back the hem of her dress above her ankle. He slid his hand back down, slowly, making her tense every muscle in her leg and foot as he skimmed along until he reached the bottom of her foot.

The pads of his thumbs pressed into the arch and she melted, making a low noise in her throat that she knew he heard.

She pretended she wasn't that affected, as she forced herself to drink her champagne and never break his gaze.

The longer he rubbed her foot, the harder that task became.

His face was cast in shadows, which only made him more attractive. What light there was caught the planes and hollows of his face dramatically, making him appear dangerous. Until she reminded herself that she had Oliver Queen, Green Arrow himself, rubbing her feet.

A naughty smirk inadvertently crossed her face and he saw, which only made him up the ante.

His fingers traveled upwards, encircling her ankle. Her leg jerked slightly and now it was his turn to smirk. She downed her glass and poured another. She'd never known her ankle was so sensitive until he started following the lines of the bone, his nails scraping lightly.

Feeling bold, and a bit reckless, she draped an arm across the back of the seat and let her hand rest on his shoulder, tracing the line between his jacket and dress shirt, the expensive material slid easily underneath her touch.

She regretted that decision when his hand left her ankle and continued up her calf. Another half of glass was consumed with that action. She wasn't sure she could feel her extremities. Everything in her was focused on wherever his hands were.

She licked her lips, and could feel how shallow her breath was and knew he knew as well. When his fingers danced along the back of her knee she conceded defeat and let her head fall back with a stifled moan. The way his hand grasped her leg made her think she wasn't the only one affected.

When the car stopped and the interior lights came on she sat up hastily, swinging her feet to the floor and slipping her shoes back on. She felt slightly lightheaded from the champagne and knew she needed to get food in her system immediately before she said or did something she regretted.

Digg opened the door on her side, and helped her out, giving her a knowing look and she realized the divider had been down the entire ride.

"I sent Carly a text, she said she'd stick around for a bit for us. Burgers and fries have already been ordered." Digg said as they made their way inside.

"You're the best, Digg." she said as her stomach growled again. She hadn't look Oliver's direction since they'd left the car.

A table was set and waiting for them. They greeted Carly and thanked her. She waved them off and made Felicity give her a mini fashion show in her dress. When she saw the back her jaw dropped.

"Whoa! How did he keep his hands off you all night?" Carly said conspiratorially,

Digg was passing them when she spoke, "He didn't." he supplied with a large grin and Carly made her give her a high five.

Oliver slid into the booth next to her and she risked a glance his way. His face betrayed nothing and she was actually glad. So much had happened in such a short amount of time she needed a chance to process it all.

Food. She could focus on food. That way she wouldn't be remembering what it felt like when he touched her.

She had just started to reach for her burger when she groaned loudly and sat back, hands in her lap.

"What's wrong?" Digg asked, already taking a giant bite out of his own meal.

"If I get even one speck of food on this dress Thea will have me beheaded. I know this to be fact." she said dejectedly.

"Can't you just be careful?" Carly asked and both Digg and Oliver laughed.

Felicity shot them dirty looks. "That won't happen, trust me." she said with as much dignity as she could muster.

Carly thought for a minute and held a finger up, "Hang on a sec, I'll be right back." She darted back to the kitchens while the two boys continued to chuckle.

Carly was back in a few minutes and handed her a folded up bit of black cloth. "It's clean, I promise."

Felicity opened it to discover a busboy apron she could slip over her head. "This is perfect!" she exclaimed, as she covered her gown and grinned at them, "I need to keep some of these at home, you know how messy I can get, Oliver." she had just reached for her burger when she saw a look in his eyes that took her breath away. "What?" she asked, warily.

"You said 'home'." he responded throatily and she tried to hide her gasp.

"I guess I did." she replied. The moment hung between them until Digg broke the silence.

When she was sated she sat back and groaned. "That was perfect, really. I've had juice, and the tiniest portions of things today that don't even count as food."

"We should get back." Oliver stated. It was after midnight and if they were lucky Alice would be sound asleep.

As it turned out that was not the case.

The house appeared to be quiet when they returned. Oliver's hand hovered underneath her arm as they climbed the stairs but he didn't touch her. In fact, he hadn't touched her since the foot rubbing incident 2.0 that had spiraled rapidly out of control.

She slid her heels off when they reached the top and held the hem of her dress up so she wouldn't trample it. They were halfway down the hall to their rooms and Alice's nursery when they could see the door open, with light spilling out. Thea's laugh echoed out into the corridor.

"What the hell?" Oliver said darkly and quicken his pace.

He beat Felicity to the door and she had to try and push her way past when he froze on the spot. Never would she have expected the sight that greeted her.

Roy Harper was flying Alice around over his head like she was an airplane. And Alice was laughing.

Thea sat with her back to the door, grinning at them.

"Speedy!" Oliver barked and strode forward, his glare on Roy before he'd even turned to see them there.

Oliver didn't say a word to Roy just took Alice from him and turned his look on Thea, waiting for an explanation.

Thea scrambled to her feet. "Hey guys, you're back already!" she exclaimed.

Oliver didn't even speak he just emitted a low level grumble from his chest and Thea gulped before continuing. "Roy came over to visit, and it turns out he's really great with kids. Alice adores him."

That was probably the last thing she should have said and Felicity recognized the way his eyes narrowed, and the set of his jaw.

She hurried forward and took Alice from Oliver, giving her a smile and a kiss on the cheek before she handed her off to Thea. "You kept her up. You can get her to sleep." she said pointedly and then turned to Roy. "Thanks for keeping her entertained but I think Thea's got it from here." he took the hint, and the fact that she was essentially saving him and headed for the door, only looking back once.

Felicity grabbed Oliver by the wrist and tugged twice before he moved. He was silent until the door to their suite shut behind him and then he erupted.

She let him rant and fume, watching as he paced the carpet. His jacket was thrown over a chair and as he spoke he undid his bow tie leaving it loose around his collar before the top two buttons of his shirt were opened with sharp flicks of his fingers.

She was placing her clutch on the table when she turned around and saw him. Her mouth went dry.

Shit. She was in trouble.

He looked...incredible. He ran one hand through his hair and stopped when he caught the look on her face.

Her feet had carried her forward several steps before she knew what she was doing. She stopped herself, her breath coming in short, tight, bursts while her heart threatened to beat out of her chest.

He ate up the distance between them in two long strides and she felt dizzy.

His hand came up and cupped her face, his thumb stroking over her cheekbone and her eyes slammed shut at the contact.

What were they doing? A tiny part of her brain that was still capable of functioning made itself known and she gasped, stepping back at the same time although she could still feel the heat of his hand on her skin.

"Thank you...I had...I had a really good time tonight." she stammered, feeling like she had to say something.

His eyes swirled with emotion and she knew if she gave him the slightest indication she'd end up in his bed tonight. But she wouldn't know why. And she needed to know that what he was doing was real and genuine.

She didn't wait for his response as she turned and headed for her room. She leaned heavily against the door when it was shut and took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm her pulse.

An image of him appeared in her mind and her hand fell to the door handle, the cold brass cutting into her palm from how tightly she held it. With her head pressed into the door she fought an internal battle.

Should she open the door or not?

In the end she forced herself away and walked sullenly into her closet. Desire thrummed through her but she had to push it away, or at least make an attempt to push it away.

She went through the motions of hanging up the dress, and peeling off her $200 thong. An image of Oliver doing that for her was a reminder that she could be in his room right now and she groaned out loud in frustration.

The robe she'd worn earlier was still in the closet. She slipped it on and made her way into the bathroom to undo all the hard work of the hair stylists and makeup artists. She'd pulled out half the hair pins when a sparkle in the mirror caught her eye and she remembered she was still wearing the necklace and earrings.

Her hand flew to her throat, covering the gems as her heart beat furiously. She had millions of dollars of jewels around her neck, she couldn't just take it off and leave it on the bathroom counter.

She pulled the rest of the pins out hastily causing her hair to tumble about her shoulders. The earrings she slipped off and laid to the side, hoping it would be okay to return them in the morning. The necklace she knew she had to deal with immediately.

Felicity reached behind her neck and tried to work the clasp but she couldn't get it to release. Cold sweat broke out across her skin, and she could feel her nerves start to rise. Her fingers felt heavy and clumsy and no matter what she did she could not get it to open.

In desperation she turned the piece around so she could attempt to see but it was just too short and trying to use the mirror didn't help either. It was intricate and complex to ensure the necklace wouldn't open up while it was being worn.

She turned it back the way it was supposed to go and leaned her hands on the counter, before she studied herself in the mirror. She was going to have to walk across the suite, knock on Oliver's door, and ask him for help. After she'd just had to talk herself down from almost jumping him.

Before she could think too long she tightened the belt around her waist and headed out the door. Her feet were silent on the carpet. Half way across the floor she realized his door wasn't shut all the way and it took her aback.

Had he expected her? Did he want her to come back? What was he going to think when she knocked on the door?

She'd turned around and taken two steps towards her room before she noticed she'd moved. With a heavy sigh and clenched fists she spun and marched straight for the door.

She knocked heavily, wincing when it reverberated in the space. The door was opened almost immediately and she gasped.

Her hand was still raised in the air, as she froze. The tie was gone, so were the cufflinks, and she had clearly interrupted him changing because his shirt was completely unbuttoned and untucked from his pants.

There was a look in his eye she had never ever seen before. It was dark and dangerous and had heat pooling in her belly.

"What are you doing Felicity?" his voice was low, and rumbly and she just then noticed the way his hand clenched the the door above his head. His knuckles were white.

With a great rush of air she began breathing again. She dropped her hand and fiddled with the tie of the robe. It was that action that made her remember how she was dressed, and what had happened only ten minutes earlier, and what her standing at his door in nothing but a robe must look like.

"Oh god!" she said suddenly both hands coming up to cover her mouth. "I'm not here for...no. The necklace! I couldn't get the necklace off. It's got some sort of super tricky clasp and I tried, I really did, because I did not want to have to come back out here after..." she cleared her throat and squeezed her eyes shut tight, "I just need to give this back to you. I can't leave something like this just laying around my room. I guess I could have just slept in it. Crap, why didn't I think of that. But anyways-"

He didn't say a word, just laid a hand on her shoulder and turned her away from him. The words she were going to keep saying caught as she felt tingles shoot across her skin just from that slight bit of contact.

Her exhale stuttered past her lips as she felt him slowly move her hair away from her neck, draping it over one shoulder.

His fingertips only occasionally brushed across her skin, but when they did she was hyperaware as jolts of electricity would make her shiver.

He had the clasp undone in seconds. The necklace pulled away from her throat and she immediately felt it's loss.

Her hand stroked over the now bare expanse of skin and pivoted on the spot.

"Guess I'd better go before I turn into a pumpkin." she laughed awkwardly. He looked away for a second and when he looked back he was the old Oliver again.

"Get some sleep." he said evenly, no trace that anything out of the ordinary had just happened.

She didn't trust her voice. Instead she just nodded and headed back to her room. The door shut firmly behind her when she was only a few steps away.

She went through the motions of getting ready for bed, trying to ignore what had happened, even though that was impossible.

The baby monitor was by her bedside and she turned it up to listen, relieved to hear Alice's light, even breathing, which meant she was asleep.

The events of the night filtered through her mind in changing order as she tried to fall asleep. The ones she kept coming back to repeatedly always ended up featuring his hands on her skin as the common denominator.

In the morning everything was back to normal. Oliver didn't say anything about what had happened at the gala or after the gala and neither did she.

There was nothing again that was as loaded as that night. Nothing that heavy. She caught his stare sometimes and still felt electricity every time they touched, but they both seemed to know they were playing with fire and had elected to be very very careful.

Another few weeks passed like this with them maintaining the status quo. Alice continued to grow and change. She could roll over now and loved to grab Felicity's glasses. She was also sleeping for almost seven hours straight which meant they weren't as sleep deprived any more.

Felicity had a long day and knew there was an even longer night ahead of her. She'd been putting off a much needed system upgrade to the servers at the lair and she couldn't delay any longer. Oliver wouldn't even be out a board meeting until late so she'd driven herself in that morning. She just needed to pick up Alice and they'd be on their way.

As she pushed into the reception area of the daycare, she smiled at the young woman behind the desk.

"Hi, Mrs. Qu...sorry...Ms. Smoak." the girl said, shaking her head at her gaffe. Felicity barely blinked, she'd heard it so many times by now it didn't phase her any more.

"Did Alice leave something here?" the girl asked quizzically, and Felicity gave her a confused look.

"Um, I don't think so. I'm just here to pick her up."

"Oh, your new nanny came and got her about an hour ago. Nice lady, it's so hard to find good help you can trust. Is Alice going to be coming back everyday or just occasionally? We'd hate to lose her." she was busying herself with paperwork while she spoke and didn't seem to notice when Felicity paled and went still.

"What nanny?" she asked, a whine of panic building within her that she was trying desperately to keep control of.

There must have been something in her voice because the girl stopped and looked at her. "Your new nanny." she said slowly, "She showed me a paper signed by Mr. Queen. She said you two would be working late tonight and he'd asked her to come by and pick Alice up."

Felicity felt like the world had dropped out from underneath her feet. "Oh god!" she gasped, hand covering her mouth as she clutched the counter for support.

"Ms. Smoak, what's wrong?" the girl asked worriedly

"There is no nanny!" Felicity cried, "There is no new nanny! She's been taken. Oh my god, she's been taken."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Here it is. The final 'real' chapter. There will be an epilogue to follow up. **

**Enjoy, and let me know what you think!**

_Previously in 'Once and Future Queen'..._

_Felicity pushed into the reception area of the daycare, smiling at the young woman behind the desk. _

"_Hi, Mrs. Qu...sorry...Ms. Smoak." the girl said, shaking her head at her gaffe. Felicity barely blinked, she'd heard it so many times by now it didn't phase her any more. _

"_Did Alice leave something _here_?" the girl asked quizzically, and Felicity gave her a confused look. _

"_Um, I don't think so. I'm just here to pick her up." _

"_Oh, your new nanny came and got her about an hour ago. Nice lady, it's so hard to find good help you can trust. Is Alice going to be coming back everyday or just occasionally? We'd hate to lose her." she was busying herself with paperwork while she spoke and didn't seem to notice when Felicity paled and went still. _

"_What nanny?" she asked, a whine of panic building within her that she was trying desperately to keep control of. _

_There must have been something in her voice because the girl stopped and looked at her. "Your new nanny." she said slowly, "She showed me a paper signed by Mr. Queen. She said you two would be working late tonight and he'd asked her to come by and pick Alice up." _

_Felicity felt like the world had dropped out from underneath her feet. "Oh god!" she gasped, hand covering her mouth as she clutched the counter for support. _

"_Ms. Smoak, what's wrong?" the girl asked worriedly_

"_There is no nanny!" Felicity cried, "There is no new nanny! She's been taken. Oh my god, she's been taken." her sight blurred and she felt like she couldn't breathe. _

She could hear the girl calling for her supervisor and someone trying to speak to her but she couldn't hear them. She had to find Alice. She had to get her back. That thought was the only thing that brought her back from the edge.

With a great exhale she shoved herself away from the desk and began pounding on the locked door. "Let me in! Let me see the security footage, now!" she demanded

The door handle turned and she pushed through, making her way to the office while a host of employees trailed after her.

Felicity ignored them all as she scanned the set up, finding what she needed immediately. She didn't even bother to sit down as she ran the footage back, an icy fist around her stomach told her she already knew who had taken Alice.

When she saw the main door open and Helena Bertinelli walk in she knew she'd been right. "No...no no no no no!" The world grew fuzzy and she felt hands catch her as she began to tip over.

The director of the daycare was at her side, "Ms. Smoak we've called the police, they'll be here soon."

Felicity nodded blindly and began fumbling in her bag for her phone. She needed Oliver. He needed to find Helena and get Alice back. He was the only one she trusted.

"I need Oliver." she repeated over and over again as she searched her bag.

"We can call Mr. Queen for you." the supervisor said desperately but Felicity ignored her.

She could feel eyes on her as she left the room, not stopping until she was outside in the bright sun with pedestrians passing her by not noticing how she was about to break.

Her fingers shook as she called Oliver, willing him to answer with every ring she heard. When it went to voicemail she almost threw the phone. He was in a board meeting until late, that's why she was supposed to pick up Alice.

Without thought she entered the main doors of Queen Consolidated and headed straight for the executive elevator, just managing to dig out her swipe card in time.

As she rode to the top floor she continually wiped hot tears off her cheeks, not knowing how she was supposed to tell him what had happened.

The first person she saw was Digg, who took one look at her and cut across the hallway in three long strides.

"What is it?" he asked immediately

She just shook her head and laid a hand on his chest as she passed, "Go, get the car, get his gear. Helena's taken Alice." She had no idea how she'd been able to say the words without falling apart.

Digg blanched, staring at her slack jawed for a long moment before he nodded once and took off.

The board room was full, but she wasted no time in going straight in. A voice to her right tried to stop her, not realizing at first who she was but she just kept walking. Oliver spotted her and was on his feet making his way to her.

He didn't say a word, just clasped her arm above her elbow and led her into his office.

"What's wrong?" he demanded as soon as the door was shut.

She took a shuddering breath and grasped the lapels of his suit jacket. "I went to pick Alice up at day care. But they...oh god...they told me she'd already been picked up by our new nanny." her voice was so laden with tears she could barely speak.

Oliver's brow furrowed as he looked at her in confusion, "But..."

"She's been taken. I checked the security feed, it was...oh god, Oliver, it was Helena." as soon as the words were out she collapsed. Oliver caught her on reflex, but it took him several moments to wrap his arms around her as she clung to him.

Her fear overwhelmed her and if it wasn't for him she would have been on the floor.

His hands found her face, his thumbs swiping away tears as his eyes bored into hers. "We are going to get her back. Do you hear me? I'm not going to let anything happen to her." she'd never heard such conviction in his voice before.

"Please..." was all she could get out before she began sobbing again. He pulled her to him fiercely, one hand buried in her hair as he pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I promise you, I'll get her back. We're not losing her." the break in his voice made her look up to see the fear and panic in his face. It struck her suddenly that it wasn't just her who was in this, Oliver was too.

Her hand cupped his cheek. "I know you'll get her back. I know you will." she whispered raggedly. His eyes slammed shut and she lifted on her toes so she could bring his head down to her shoulder. "We're not losing her." she repeated back to him, feeling his fingers scrabble against her back to bring her even closer. He let out one long shuddering breath and then stood up straight hands still grasping her arms as they separated.

"Digg's getting the car and your gear." she told him, "But the daycare already called the police...how will I explain that you're not there."

A shadow crossed his face and she could see him struggling to think, "Tell them I went home to see if there were any ransom demands. Hopefully I can find Helena quickly and this will all be over soon."

Felicity nodded, hating that he'd be out there without her, but knowing they had to do everything they could to bring Alice home safe.

"Stay here. I'll call down and have the police sent up, then you won't have to deal with the press." he said, somehow managing to sound calm, even though one look at him told her differently.

"Okay," she nodded, feeling like her chest was being crushed as horrible thoughts flashed through her mind of what Helena could be doing. "Oliver..." she said brokenly, "What if...she's hungry, or cold, or...what if she's already..." her knees began to buckle.

Oliver's arm wrapped around her waist quickly, securing her to him. "Stop it. You can't think like that." he said desperately, finally letting go of the control he'd been fighting so hard to hold on to. "I'm going to get her back." His lips brushed over her cheek, her eyelids, her temple, her hair. "I will get her back." he vowed, and with one more hard kiss to her forehead he was striding towards the door.

Felicity pressed one hand over her mouth, the other wrapped around her waist. It was the only thing she could do to not completely fall apart. She took halting steps to Oliver's chair and collapsed into the plush leather.

She didn't know how long she sat there, staring at a spot on the floor. No one disturbed her. She was vaguely aware of two members of the Queen's security staff come to take up stations outside the door, and she assumed Digg had sent them over, but no one came in.

The next thing she knew a figure was crouched in front of her, and a hand was clasping hers. Blinking rapidly and with a great gasp of air she came back to the present to see Detective Lance before her.

"Ms. Smoak...I'm sorry to startle you." he said carefully. Felicity pulled her hand from his and ran them up under her glasses, shutting her eyes tight in an attempt to slow down her rapid pulse.

"It's okay. Is there any word? Has anyone called? Have you found her?" she asked frantically.

Lance stood up slowly and drug a nearby chair closer. "There has been no contact. No calls to the daycare, or to Queen Consolidated." he said gently. She pressed her lips together tight to keep from crying out.

"Ms. Smoak, I have to ask, where is Mr. Queen?" Lance was trying to keep his tone even but she could hear the suspicion.

"He uh...he thought there might have been a ransom request sent to the mansion so he went over there." even as she was saying it she knew it sounded weak.

"So, Mr. Queen is at the mansion and he left you here?" now he sounded slightly angry,

"I told him to go Detective Lance." she said with as much force as she could.

"Ms. Smoak...given the nature of your...history...the day care director said you looked at the security footage and said you knew who took the baby."

"Alice." Felicity said immediately, "Her name is Alice."

Lance's expression softened, "Of course, Alice. She said you knew who took Alice."

Not seeing anyway out of it she told him. "It was Helena Bertinelli."

Lance's eyebrows lifted into his hairline, he knew who she was. "If I recall, she was working with your hooded friend."

Felicity's eye's flashed up, "He wasn't working with her, he was trying to stop her, she's a psychopath."

Lance's head cocked to the side, but he didn't argue with her. "You haven't contacted him, have you?" the way he asked made her think he hoped she hadn't.

Anger flared in her, "You don't think I'm going to use every resource at my disposal to get my daughter back? Of course I contacted him!" she bit out, "Oliver's meeting with him now!" she swore under her breath and looked away.

"So Mr. Queen is in fact, not at the mansion then?"

She lifted her gaze to his and held it. "No. He's also doing whatever he can to get Alice back." That, was not a lie.

"Alright...I can't promise him any help. We have to work this on our own the best we can even though it seems pretty obvious to me she's taken the baby because of your involvement with Green Arrow." He stood suddenly and looked down at her with sympathy.

"Thank you, Detective." her eyes caught the clock on the wall and with a pang she realized Alice should be getting her dinner right then. "I just want her back safe." she choked back a sob and tried to keep herself from having a breakdown in front of him.

"Ms. Smoak, we're going to do everything we can. I..." he started and then ran a hand through his hair before turning back to her, "I know what you're going through." and with a start she was reminded that he had lost a daughter himself. And because the universe had a sick sense of humor, the knowledge that it was because of Oliver that he had lost that daughter hung between them, making the air thick with everything that wasn't being said.

"Thank you," she said again.

He nodded stiffly and exited the room, leaving her in silence.

For the next two hours she paced, and worried. She wanted to call Oliver so badly she'd started to numerous times before she made herself stop. She couldn't risk outing him to anyone, nor did she want to distract him in any way.

The thought that she could be doing something useful had passed through her mind more than once, but she was forced to stay in the office, getting occasional updates from the police as they looked at her with sympathy.

When her text alert went off she fumbled frantically for her phone, almost dropping it before she swiped her thumb across the screen.

But it wasn't from Oliver or Digg, the text was from Helena.

Felicity's stomach twisted as her rubbery legs gave way. She half sat, half fell into the chair as she read.

'_Call off your dogs if you want to see your daughter again. 9 p. we first met. only you.' _

Her breath came out in short, jagged bursts.

The club. Not the lair. Helena wouldn't be able to get in now, all the security protocols and systems had been upgraded and changed, but she meant the club.

Oliver and Digg must have tracked her if they were getting close. Felicity had no idea how she'd get them to stop. If she called Oliver and told him Helena wanted to meet he wouldn't let it happen.

A quick glance at the clock showed it was already after eight. A desperate sob escaped her throat. It was too soon. Too quick. She didn't have time to think.

With a shaking hand she picked up her phone and called Oliver.

He answered on the second ring, slightly breathless. From the dull background noise she could tell he was on the motorcycle.

"Felicity! Do you have her?" he asked immediately, and her heart clenched.

"No." she managed to get out before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down. "Oliver, I need you to listen to me. I...overheard the police. They think...they think she's going to her father's house. She may already be there." she felt sick lying to him, but the old Bertinelli house was on the other side of town from Verdant. She'd buy herself enough time if she sent them there.

There was a pause before he replied, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I heard them." panic laced through her at the thought that he might not go along with what she said.

"Ok. We're heading over now." the comm was silent, "Felicity..." he began and she stopped him.

"I know, just do what you do." she said through tears and forced herself to end the call.

She clenched the phone in both hands and pressed the edge to her forehead. She didn't have a choice. She had to do this.

Without giving herself time to think she grabbed her bag and slipped out the side door into the board room. There was another exit into a little used hallway that would allow her to get out without the bodyguards seeing her. As she pushed into the stairwell her heels sounded excessively loud.

She went down two floors then walked the hall like nothing was wrong. Only one person passed her and they didn't notice who she was. There wasn't a stop for the executive elevator on this floor, but there was an express elevator to the garage.

Her car was there, but she didn't want them tracking her. Luckily for her what she did have was training by one John Diggle on how to break into a car and hot wire it.

She chose a nondescript car that was a popular model and would be difficult to track on traffic cameras. Within a few minutes she was pulling out of the garage. At this time of night there was no guard on duty at the exit, just a mechanical arm that opened smoothly as she passed her employee I.D over the scanner. She knew if anyone looked they'd be able to track when she left, but she was hoping it would take some time before they noticed she was gone.

The further she drove from the office the more focused she felt. She'd do whatever she had to do to get Alice back. She knew Oliver would never forgive her, but it was worth the risk.

Her hands shook some as she pulled into the back lot of Verdant, but the rest of her was eerily calm. She slid her phone into the pocket of her skirt and left the stolen car and her bag behind. For a moment she considered entering the back stairs to the lair to get a weapon, but she knew she was no match for Helena and she didn't want to risk letting her down there.

She punched her code into the side entrance the employees used and left the door ajar. Anything she could do to make Helena give Alice back she would do.

The only light came from the emergency exit signs that hung overhead in the hallway. She paused for a moment to allow her eyes to adjust before she continued. The skylights high above the dance floor let in a small amount of moonlight, but that was it. The space was cavernous and empty. She winced as her heels echoed across the floor, but she knew that if Helena was already there she surely had spotted Felicity.

She made her way to the center of the floor and turned slowly not noticing anything out of place. The shadows seemed longer than usual and she could only just make out the edge of the bar.

"Helena! I'm here. I did what you asked. Give me my baby!" she called, still trying to look everywhere at once.

There was a light laugh that sent chills up her spine as it echoed off the walls. Felicity turned suddenly to try and spot her just as a whistling sound cut through the air.

A flash of pain burned across her leg.

With a cry she went down, clutching at her thigh, as blood pooled beneath her fingers.

The bolt from a crossbow lay on the floor next to her and she pushed herself backwards as best she could, trying to ignore the throbbing pain that flared through her leg at every movement.

"Why are you doing this?" she screamed in frustration, "Where is she?"

"You and your merry band of men were going to kill me when I was in town last. I just thought it was time for a little payback." Helena said, this time much closer although Felicity still couldn't see her.

"I knew there was something between you and Ollie waaay back then. Simmering beneath the surface, just waiting for the right moment. I can appreciate that. I like the hunt, but the wait can be fun too. So imagine my surprise when I saw the news. Oliver Queen and his new family. Well, that was one hunt I just couldn't pass up."

Felicity's entire body shook with fear. Helena didn't have any intention of giving Alice back. She may have already-

Oliver's words came back to her and she had to force those thoughts down and lock them away. That was the only way she'd be able to get through this.

Felicity kept pushing herself backwards. The pressure she'd put on her leg was making it numb and for that she was grateful. She refused to look at it. It could be fixed later.

She felt in her pocket and found her phone. Knowing it was a risk she sent a text message to Lance. All it said was '_Verdant_'.

"She's just a baby, Helena, even you aren't that coldblooded." Felicity countered, hoping she could keep her talking or appeal to some small sliver of humanity she may still have.

The laugh that she heard make her stomach drop and fill with ice. "Losing his child would destroy Oliver. If the baby is collateral damage in the greater war, who am I to find fault." Helena practically cackled, "And losing the woman he loves...that's just gravy."

The sound of another bolt being set into the crossbow sounded like a death knell and Felicity looked around frantically. She tried to push up on her injured leg but fell back to the floor instead. Hot, angry tears poured from her eyes. She wasn't scared for herself. She was scared for Oliver and what this would do to him.

Feeling like she'd failed both Alice and Oliver, she shut her eyes tight. Helena would never see her pain.

"Drop it, Helena." his voice rang out, loud and forceful, deeper than she'd ever heard it. Relief flowed through her that he'd come. Somehow he'd known she was lying and had come.

"Oh goody, Daddy's come to play." Helena drawled, "I've already shot her once Oliver. How many more times can I put a bolt in her before she bleeds out?"

"I'm fine, don't listen to her!" Felicity yelled, not wanting her getting inside his head.

"Where. Is. The baby." Oliver ground out. Felicity could hear how close to the edge he was and she prayed he could hang on long enough to get Helena to tell them where Alice was.

She laughed again, "A long way from here."

Felicity couldn't hold back the whimper that escaped her throat.

"You can have me. That's what you want. Just let them go." Oliver offered

"I don't want you. I want to destroy you. Letting them go doesn't accomplish that, Ollie."

Panic was creeping through her again. In Helena's mind this was only going to end one way.

"Get Felicity out of here and let me put a bullet between this psycho bitch's eyes." Digg said from the shadows.

"Oh, the big growly bear too. Just for little 'ol me. Really boys, you shouldn't have."

"You've turned into your father Helena." Oliver said, his voice now coming from somewhere else.

"That may be, but you're never going to get the chance to be one, so...I can live with that." she countered.

"You're not walking out of here alive. Tell me where she is." there was a break in his voice and Felicity knew he was at the edge of his control.

"Nah, I'd rather shoot out your hacker love's femoral artery and watch her die before the medics arrive."

Oliver must have saw something, or heard something or maybe he just knew she'd pulled the trigger because before Felicity could blink she heard Oliver release his bow at the same moment Digg fired his gun.

"NO!" was torn from Felicity's throat as Helena fell.

Her voice still echoed in the dark. Their only chance of finding out where Alice was had fallen from the rafters and now lay in a pool of her own blood.

She wouldn't know until later that Digg shot the bolt out of the air, and Oliver planted an arrow in Helena's throat.

No one moved. No one breathed.

A siren cut through the silence, jolting her to the present.

"Go!" she commanded, "Get out of here."

"Felicity..." Oliver began but she stopped him,

"Go, so you can come back as you. Please. We have to...we have to find her." she choked out, tears clogging her throat.

"Felicity!"

"Digg, get him out of here!" she pleaded and she heard a scuffle as Oliver was dragged bodily from the dance floor.

Not five seconds after she heard the side door close, Lance and his men busted down the front door of the club.

Bright flashlights lit the space before Lance turned on the lights. He raced to her side, "Get the medics in here, now!" he said as soon as he saw her.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"You have to find Alice. Helena doesn't have her here, unless she was lying." she was starting to shake now from shock. Lance shrugged out of his SCPD jacket and wrapped it around her.

"What happened, Ms. Smoak?" he asked again.

Her eyes cut over to where Helena's body lay, several of his men already surrounding her.

Lance sighed heavily and rubbed a hand across his forehead. "She's the only one who knows where the baby is. Doesn't that hooded menace realize-"

"He saved my life. She was going to shoot me again." she told him, "He didn't have a choice."

EMTs rushed inside and Lance waved them over.

"I've got uniforms canvasing this entire city. If she's out there, we'll find her. I promise you."

He stood back to let the medics work. One of them had to pry her hand off her leg to see the wound.

There were raised voices at the door and she looked over to see Oliver being held back by two police officers. He hadn't bothered with his jacket or tie. Digg must have only been able to get him to the basement.

Lance walked a few steps toward him and motioned to the officers to let him go.

The next thing she knew he was skidding to his knees at her side, pulling her as close to him as he could with the medics still working on her leg.

She clung to him, burying her face in his neck.

"Are you alright?" he asked throatily. "Is she alright?" he directed at the man working on her leg.

"She should probably head to the hospital for some stitches, but no permanent damage."

"No, I'm not going anywhere. Just tape it or glue it or something and wrap it up. I don't have time to get stitches right now." she told them.

Oliver's hands framed her face and she raised her hands to grasp his wrists, leaving bloody fingerprints on his skin. "Why would you do something so stupid?" he said desperately. "Why would you agree to meet her?" He wasn't even attempting to hide the fear and panic he'd felt for her.

"I had to. She sent me a text saying if I wanted to see Alice again I..." her voice broke on a sob. "That's why I had to get rid of you." she whispered. "I'm sorry."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and shushed her.

"We're going to get her back. I swear to you. Digg's trying to catch her on traffic cameras right now to see where she went after she left the daycare." he told her, keeping his voice low and by her ear so only she could hear.

Felicity shook harder, not even noticing as several butterfly bandages were placed to hold her wound together.

Oliver's arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She could feel the ragged rise and fall of his chest and she leaned into him.

The medics finished up and once again advised her to get seen at the hospital before they disappeared.

Oliver was about to lift her when Lance came jogging up, unable to hide the smile on his face. "We found her!" he exclaimed.

Felicity let out a shocked "Oh!" as fresh tears fell, unable to speak.

Oliver's eyes shut tight and he bowed his head into her hair until he felt he had control over his emotions.

"Where was she? Is she hurt?" he asked rapidly, his voice still broken, able to ask what she couldn't.

"She was found in her car seat in the back of a car in a parking garage two blocks from your building. She's perfectly fine. Just hungry and mad as hell about missing her supper if the screaming I heard over the radio was any indication." he relayed happily. "They're bringing her here now. I didn't see the point in having you wait any longer."

"Oh my god." Felicity gasped out, "She's okay. She's really okay." she said aloud before turning tear filled eyes to Oliver, needing for him to reassure her.

"She's safe." he said thickly as he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in tighter. "She's safe."

Felicity clung to his arms, feeling lightheaded. She just wanted Alice in her arms and to know for sure that she wasn't hurt.

"We'll get her to you as soon as she's here." Lance said and stepped away.

"Text Digg." she said suddenly, sitting up and grabbing her own phone. "He needs to bring a bottle up from the fridge, she's going to want to eat. And maybe the changing stuff, it's been hours since the last time she was changed." she tried to touch the screen but her eyes were too filled with tears to let her see straight.

Oliver took the phone from her hand and did it for her before he pulled her onto his lap, being careful of her leg, even though she couldn't feel it just then.

She sat with her head tucked into his shoulder while he rhythmically carded a hand through her hair providing them both comfort. He kept brushing his lips over her temple while they waited in silence.

Digg arrived a few minutes later, crouching down next to her. "Hey girl, how you doing?"

"I'm ok. Although I'll need you to stitch my leg up later." she told him

"I can do that." he told her with a comforting smile, "Bag's here. Bottle and all."

"Thanks, Digg, for everything." she whispered

"Anything for my Ali, you know that." he replied and went to see what could be done about getting Helena's body out of the club as soon as possible.

She watched, her eyes not totally seeing as Lance received a call over his radio and headed for the door.

When Oliver tensed underneath her she looked up at him. He was staring at Lance who was now walking towards them, holding Alice.

She tried to get up, but Oliver held her down and Lance quickened his pace. Both she and Oliver were reaching for her when he was still a few feet away.

"Here she is." Lance announced, "Medics looked her over quick and she seems fine." he said as he crouched down to hand her over.

Felicity was grateful for the support of Oliver's arms under hers as she took Alice. She pulled her close and held her as tight as she dared, breathing in her scent as she pressed kisses everywhere she could reach. Oliver surrounded them both, his hand stroking her head over and over, unable to keep the smile off his face. He kissed Alice and then Felicity. She felt his ragged breath on her neck and a hot tear drip under her collar.

Without taking her eyes off of Alice she reached a hand up and cupped his cheek, feeling him turn into her. "She's really okay." she whispered. His head bobbed once before he began to pull Alice's blanket away, wanting to see for himself that she was unharmed.

They checked everywhere, but there wasn't a scratch on her. Alice tolerated them as long as she could and then began fussing.

Oliver grabbed the bottle and handed it over. Felicity's hands were still shaking so hard he had to help her hold it, Alice's little hand came up to lay across theirs.

As the adrenaline abated, Felicity turned her face into Oliver's chest, her forehead pressed into his neck. Her eyes grew heavier but she refused to let go of the bottle or Alice.

The sounds around them didn't register with her. She didn't hear the officers, or Lance barking orders. She didn't hear the forensics team begin their investigation. All she heard were Alice's breaths and Oliver's heartbeat.

She was slightly groggy when he slipped the bottle from her hand. Alice was sound asleep and Oliver took care to wrap the blanket around her more securely. He squeezed Felicity's arms once, "You got her?" he asked quietly, at her nod he lifted her and sat her to the side, careful to avoid the spot where her blood still stained the floor.

"I just need to talk to Lance for a minute, I'll be right back." he promised. His hand stroked over Alice's head once before he kissed Felicity's cheek and rose to his feet.

She watched as he crossed to Lance, "Thank you." Oliver said solemnly and held his hand out.

The detective hesitated for only a moment before he shook it. "No one deserves to lose a child, Queen."

"No, they don't." Oliver agreed and six years of bitterness, and blame, and hatred fell away.

"Take care of them." Lance ordered gruffly and didn't wait for a response before he turned away.

Digg approached just as Oliver was walking back. "Ready to go? They said you can do your statement tomorrow."

She let out a sigh of relief, the last thing she wanted to do was go to the police station.

Digg sat the car seat down beside her and she gave him a look. She didn't want to let Alice go.

"Come on, it's just long enough to get her home." he said gently, and held his hands out.

She couldn't help kissing Alice once more. Digg took the time to undo her blanket so she could be put in the seat properly. But as Felicity watched and she saw him pause she realized he was doing the exact same thing they had done; he was making sure she was okay. Tears blurred her eyes again.

Wiping the back of her hand over her face she made to push herself to her feet when Oliver stepped in and stopped her. "Don't even think about it." he ordered, and before she could protest he'd scooped her into his arms.

"Is this necessary?" she questioned, "I'm pretty sure I can walk."

"It's necessary." he replied, and his tone let her know that was how it was going to be.

Digg didn't carry the seat by the handle, he had the entire thing held to his chest by one massive arm and Felicity knew there was absolutely nothing in the world that could hurt Alice right then.

No one stopped them as they headed for the door. She turned her head away as they passed Helena. She never wanted to see her again.

They crossed the back parking lot and she saw the car she'd driven there.

"Oh, I kind of stole a car." she said with a grimace.

Digg gave a short laugh, "I have a feeling Lance will overlook it."

The ride back to the mansion was silent. She sat next to Alice, curled into Oliver's side with his arm stretched around her to rest on Alice's feet. Digg took the back way in to avoid any press who might be at the gate. They entered through the kitchen and were swarmed by Thea and Raisa who had been watching the entire night unfold on the news.

Oliver carried Felicity into the nearest sitting room with everyone else following. He placed her on the sofa and hadn't stepped away before Thea's arms were around her. "I'm so glad you're okay." she whispered fiercely.

Thea and Raisa fussed over Alice who slept through it all. Digg went to find a suture kit and asked Felicity if she wanted to do this somewhere else but she declined. She wanted to be right where she was.

Watching Raisa change Alice and love on her with Thea hovering kept her mind off the pain. She crushed Oliver's hand as Digg injected the numbing solution. He made quick work of his task and let Oliver do the bandaging.

When she let out a massive yawn he took that as a sign. "I think we need to let both of them get to bed." he told Thea gently who didn't want to give up the baby. With a sigh she passed Alice to Oliver and gave Felicity another hug.

There was a brief moment of panic on Oliver's face as he looked between Alice and Felicity and the stairs.

"I can walk." she assured him and reached a hand out for help off the sofa.

Her leg was still mostly numb, although sharp pains shot through when she put weight on it, but Oliver didn't need to know that.

They made their way up the steps one at a time, moving slowly. The walk to the nursery seemed to take forever.

It took a long while before Oliver laid Alice in the crib. She made a few soft sounds and rolled to her side, oblivious to the ordeal she'd been through.

They stood and watched her sleep. The tightness in Felicity's chest hadn't really abated, she still felt like if she blinked Alice would be gone.

Finally Oliver's hand wrapped around her waist and helped guide her from the room. He shut the door, and they slid down the sturdy wood, an unspoken decision to not leave Alice quite yet.

Her head fell to his shoulder. The wound in her leg throbbed now, and she was glad. At some points it felt like the only thing that was grounding her. That, and Oliver's hand as he held hers.

Even hours later she still felt shaky. Without permission, memories and terrible thoughts flooded her mind. She relived every horrible moment, and even worse ones that hadn't happened.

Her free hand clenched into a fist and she pressed it tight to her forehead in an attempt to block the thoughts, but to no avail. One particularly horrid one came and she gasped aloud, as she shook her head, trying to make them disappear.

Oliver gathered her to him, lifting her slightly so she was in his lap once again. His hands coasted over her back, and through her hair as he shushed her gently. She turned her face into his neck and tried to stay quiet, but a keening wail was torn from her throat.

She felt him shift, and then he was carrying her across the hall.

He headed straight for his room, only pausing long enough to turn on a small table lamp. He sat her on the edge of the bed and knelt in front of her.

When her sobs quieted she took his face in her hands and looked at him with sad eyes. "How'd you know?" she asked, sure he would understand.

"Helena hated her father, she'd never have gone back to that house." he said and she let her eyes fall shut with a sigh. "Digg traced your phone. When we saw you were heading for the club we knew she must have contacted you."

His head dropped in her hands and she saw him studying her torn and bloodied skirt. "Can we...can we get you out of this please, every time I see it I..." he had to fight for control before he continued. "I almost lost you." his voice broke and she reached for him but he was on his feet, crossing to a dresser before she could blink.

He returned with a t-shirt. "Is this alright? I can go get something from your room..." he trailed off, but she knew he didn't want to leave her just then, and she didn't want him to.

"No, this is perfect." she said as she took it from his hands.

"I'll let you change, I need to..." he looked at his hands and she could see where they were still bloodstained, she hadn't realized they were that bad.

He left the door to the bathroom open all the way, and she could hear the water running.

With weak hands she undid the buttons on her blouse and let it fall to the floor, her tattered skirt soon joining it as well as her bra. She slipped the shirt over her head, grateful to see it covered her to mid thigh, although the bandage on her leg peeked out from beneath it.

By the time she'd taken her glasses off and pulled out her pony tail she realized she could still hear the water. Concern shot through her and she made her way to the bathroom.

Oliver was hunched over the sink, scrubbing his hands furiously. They were clean, but he continued to scrub. His eyes were unfocused and every muscle in his body seemed to have tension in it.

Slowly she approached. When she leaned past him and turned the water off he froze, but he didn't look at her.

She grabbed a towel and carefully pulled his hands toward her. Taking them one at a time she dried them off. They were pink and raw looking from where he had tried to get clean.

Gently she lifted one hand and pressed her lips across the knuckles. "I'm okay." she whispered and he let out a ragged breath, his eyes flying to hers.

She couldn't have blinked if she'd tried. His eyes held hers until he took a step back and dropped his gaze, finally seeing her in front of him. When he looked back everything had changed.

His eyes darkened and she could see the desire. A shiver went through her, as hot licks of need shot straight to her core. In an instant she knew what she wanted. Knew what she needed.

She closed the gap between them as she slanted her mouth over his. He reacted instantly, one hand gathering a fistful of material at her back and hauling her in tight.

Her stomach continued to flip as he took over the kiss. Every time his tongue touched hers her heart jumped. Her fingers scrambled for the buttons of his shirt. She made a noise of frustration when she fumbled with the second. Oliver took pity on her and tore through the remaining ones, she smiled into his mouth as he began to walk her backwards out of the bathroom.

When she stumbled he didn't pause, just ran his hands over her hips and down, lifting her in one smooth move. She gasped into him as he kneaded the flesh of her ass, the shirt riding up about her waist.

Her need for him crawled up from her belly. Her hands roamed wherever they could reach, and when her nails scraped down his chest he practically roared. He tore his mouth from hers to nip along her jaw, and down her throat, scraping his teeth over her collarbone and making her arch up into him, seeking pressure right where she wanted it.

He deposited her on the bed, and followed her immediately, not letting any space exist between them. The mewling noises she was making as he sucked the soft flesh of her throat didn't seem to be dissuading him, if anything he just redoubled his efforts.

She needed this. She needed to forget all the horrible things that had happened. She needed him to make her feel alive and whole.

The hand at her waist wrapped around her hip and then ran down her thigh. She jolted hard, and sucked air through her teeth as he accidentally touched her injury.

With a gasp he pulled back and looked at her. "Felicity, stop" he said breathless, as he leaned his head against hers. "Not like this. Not right now."

Shame flooded her face. The shock of the shift in attitude struck her like a blow. She tried to turn away from him but he wouldn't let her. "Why not? You don't want me?"

The growl started low in his chest and made it's way north as his hand clenched the sheets next to her hip so tight he may have torn the fabric. "I've wanted you for months."

She didn't know if it was possible for her stomach to drop and flip at the same time, but it did. Slowly she reached out and traced her fingers along his jaw. "Why didn't you say anything?"

He turned into her hand and shut his eyes, "I didn't want you to think it was just because of Alice. I knew how you felt and I didn't want to screw it up."

Her heart was racing again, but now for a much better reason. "Is it...is it because of Alice?" she asked hesitantly. It was possibly the most important question she'd ever asked.

When he looked up at her she saw it all. Everything he'd been hiding. Every emotion, every desire, directed at her. She didn't need him to say it.

She leaned in and placed a slow, soft kiss on his lips.

"No, it's because of you. You kept worrying I'd want someone else in the future...I think I already knew then that was never going to happen." his eyes fell away as his brow creased.

She smoothed her fingers over the lines, "What?" she prompted.

"I don't want to hurt you. I'm not a whole person, I'm..." she stopped him with a finger to his lips and waited for him to look at her.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." she said with such conviction he had no choice but believe her.

"You stole my line, Felicity Smoak." His eyes were bright as he shifted them on the bed. He pulled the covers back and settled against the pillows, her head on his chest. Her fingers traced patterns on his skin marveling at the revelation that he'd felt this way for so long.

With a smile she turned her face into him, pressing a kiss to the scar he still had from the bullet that had started it all for her.

One hand stroked through her hair, the other laid heavy on her hip. "Who would have thought? Us, as parents." she said.

He let out a low laugh and she could feel it as well as hear it. "Not me." he admitted.

"But she's ours now, right?

"She's ours." he confirmed, and she finally let her eyes fall shut in sleep.

When Felicity could walk without a limp they made their first visit to Tommy's grave. She brought a blanket and they spread it out on the grass. Alice could sit with some assistance and Felicity let her lean against her as she played with toys in front of her.

Oliver still stood with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the headstone. Finally he looked down at them. His chest expanded with an inhale and when he let the breath out slowly she reached a hand towards him. He took it and dropped down next to them.

They spent the next hour talking to Alice and telling her about Tommy. They'd decided she could never know who she really was. After the incident with Helena they were too afraid of losing her again. She was a Queen and she would forever remain a Queen. This visit was the only one where they could talk about Tommy honestly.

The choice to deny her the truth was painful for both of them and they knew it could backfire in the future if it ever came out, but they didn't know any way around it.

When it was time to leave Felicity gathered their things and brushed her fingers across Tommy's name. "Thank you for my family." she whispered.

When she turned, Oliver was several steps away with Alice, she jogged to catch up with them and slid her hand into his.

Her future looked nothing like she had expected it to, and she was glad.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This is it. This is the end. Thanks to everyone who insisted this story continue. I'm very glad I listened. **

**I wasn't sure how I was going to end this one. I couldn't leave you hanging with Alice only four months old, and Oliver and Felicity just getting started, and there were so many moments I wanted to know about myself. So I started writing those moments. Which is how I came to have these vignettes. It was the best way I knew to show you what happened in their lives. They span almost three decades, and, I hope, touch all the big events, and a bunch of little things too. I love them all. **

**Enjoy, and let me know what you think. **

**Oh, and if you have a particular favorite I'd love to know. **

*Oliver first said 'I love you' over the comm link. He'd been stabbed in the chest from behind. He was losing consciousness and the last thing he wanted was to make sure she knew. Digg had taken over the communications since Felicity was barely able to breathe. Roy got there in time and hauled Oliver out. It ended up being only a partially collapsed lung, and he got an earful from one very scared and pissed off Felicity Smoak when he woke up. He said it again to stop her from crying.

*They officially ended her lease six months after she moved into the mansion. She'd never gone back. Not longer than the time it took to pick up a few things. In the end all that was left was her furniture and the kitchen utensils. Oliver had insisted she keep it if she wanted to. She looked at him funny and asked why, when she already had a home.

*The first time Alice walked it was across the training mats in the lair from Digg's hands to Oliver's outstretched arms. Felicity recorded it on her tablet, grin so wide it made her cheeks hurt.

*She was fourteen months old the first time she was admitted to the hospital and Felicity had never been so scared in her life. It was a virus. She just needed fluids and some medicine and she'd be fine. But seeing her tiny body in that industrial crib tore her heart out. Oliver had been out on patrol when Felicity had decided to go to the ER. She'd sent him texts and kept up with where he was via Digg. When he came racing through the door with a smear of green paint still above his ear she'd fallen into his arms just grateful she no longer had to sit there alone. She wiped the paint away with her thumb and sat in his lap instead of the other chair. They sat vigil for hours while Alice slept, Oliver's hand slipped through the railing to curl around her tiny one the entire time.

*Her first word was 'Digg' which annoyed Oliver to no end and amused Felicity. She tried to explain that the 'D' sound was easy for babies to say but he didn't care. He countered that she should be saying 'Dada' if 'Ds' were so easy. It was the first time he'd referred to himself naturally as her father. He spent the rest of the day laying on the floor with Alice sitting on his stomach trying to get her to say 'Dada'.

*She was eighteen months old when they realized their plan of not letting her know Oliver was Green Arrow was blown to hell. It had been a late night at the lair, with an important mission that had put everyone in danger. When Oliver had come back, bleeding and exhausted she was supposed to have been sound asleep in her crib. As Felicity clung to him fiercely, just glad he was alive and back in her arms, Alice pulled herself to the side of the crib and looked at him once, hood still raised, and said 'Daddy'.

*Roy was the only one allowed to read her a bedtime story. So from the age of two to four and a half he dutifully did what was requested of him. Even if sometimes it meant he had to read the story to her over the comm link in his ear while Thea held the phone.

*It took three years before they got married. They'd talked about it for a long time, and then it had just sort of been assumed it would happen, and then there was always another mission, and rings and flower arrangements didn't seem that important. So when he cleared an afternoon in their schedule and sent her upstairs with Thea she was completely surprised by what met her. There was a simple white dress, and when she made her way to the back garden she saw the smallest, most wonderful wedding waiting for her. Alice walked her down the aisle while Digg stood proudly next to Oliver in his dress uniform. When it was time to do the rings he insisted she look at them first. Hers had two Chinese characters engraved on the inside she didn't recognize, his had a string of ones and zeros that she did. They both said 'salvation'. One in Chinese, one in binary. Everyone laughed when she kissed him right then and didn't wait until the end. They ate Raisa's cooking, and danced under fairy lights Roy and Thea had spent hours hanging. Alice had fallen asleep atop Digg's shoulder's her hair spilling across his cheek. The press didn't know about it for six months.

*There were always rough nights and close calls, but he almost lost her when Alice was five. It was a car accident. Felicity woke up three days later to find Oliver closer to the edge than she had ever seen him. Roy walked in carrying Alice who scrambled to the floor and climbed carefully onto the bed next to Felicity and told her she was glad she was awake and she couldn't wait to meet her little brother or sister. The shocked look Felicity had turned on Oliver was met with a watery smile. Robert Thomas Queen was born seven months later. He hit the ground running and never stopped.

*Robbie was only a few months old when Moira Queen finished serving her prison sentence. She took a cab straight to the mansion and didn't seem surprised to see Felicity answer the door, holding Robbie in her arms. She'd managed to keep up with her family through tabloids and the news. Oliver set her up with a generous condo in Coast City and a very nice allowance. Thea visited her occasionally. She came back to Starling City twice a year, but Oliver knew he'd never trust her again.

*When Alice was eight and Robbie was two, Malcolm Merlyn suddenly reappeared. Oliver and Felicity had the biggest fight of their lives then when he called in half the Justice League to get her and the kids out of Starling City. She ended up scream crying at him, terrified he was going to go on another suicide mission to protect them. They came to a compromise where Alice and Robbie went to spend the weekend at the Fortress of Solitude with Conner Kent. Robbie was bouncing with excitement because Conner was his idol and he always loved getting to fly with Uncle Clark. The Dark Archer was finally defeated for good, and he died never knowing he had a granddaughter.

*Alice was ten when Oliver was taken. He'd been missing for almost two months when Felicity found intel that he was still alive and where he was being held. Robbie was still asleep when she and Diggle went to slip from the mansion on a mission to get Oliver back. They were met at the door by Alice, Thea, and Roy. Alice had clung to her hard, and told her to go bring dad home. As they walked out the door Felicity turned and exchanged a look with Thea who nodded once. If anything happened to them she knew her children would be taken care of.

*At twelve Alice felt she was too old to dress up for Halloween but Robbie was excited and Felicity insisted she attend the party they were holding at Queen Consolidated for employees and their families. With a roll of her eyes worthy of any tween she'd stomped up the stairs under protest. When Oliver asked what she was going as she just gave him a sweet smile and said she was going as her favorite superhero. He looked proud and gave her a hug, but Felicity eyed her daughter with suspicion. The night arrived and when she came out of her room dressed as Superman Oliver pouted, and Felicity had a good laugh. The picture she sent to Lois was then forwarded on to the rest of the JLA. Bruce bought Alice a pony to show his thanks.

*At fourteen Alice was almost as tall as Felicity. She had long dark hair, an easy smile, and had a way of moving her hands sometimes that was scarily reminiscent of Tommy. They were having a rare family meal when Alice gestured a certain way while talking and Thea froze, fork in midair. All the color drained from her face. Oliver saw her first. He'd noticed the similarities between Alice and Tommy before, but had hoped no one else would. Thea shot from the room and Felicity followed. They hashed it out in the kitchen pantry. Thea began putting together everything quicker than Felicity could have guessed. She said that it now explained why Felicity had seemed so awkward and uncomfortable with the baby when they'd moved in. Felicity told her why they'd done what they had and Thea nodded, agreeing it had been for the best. She just wished Alice could have known Tommy.

*They visited his grave every year on his birthday. Oliver never wanted to be reminded of the day he'd died. Alice and Robbie knew him as 'Uncle Tommy' and she saw the way Oliver's eyes pulled every time it was said. It haunted them both, but they could never tell Alice she was a Merlyn, it was too much of a risk.

*Conner Kent broke her heart three weeks before her sixteenth birthday. He'd told her he couldn't be with a human. He didn't want to hurt her. Felicity had found her crying and fuming in her room. A short conference call with Lois had both women rolling their eyes and Lois muttering about him following in his father's footsteps. Lois had offered to talk to Conner but Felicity insisted Alice take care of it herself. She'd raised her to speak her mind and not give up. They never knew exactly what she said to him, but it had worked. Unfortunately it was Oliver that walked in on them 'making up' in a back room at the next JLA meeting. It took both Bruce and Bart to keep him from ripping Conner apart.

*She had a rebellious streak at eighteen. Two months into her first semester of college Conner called, frantic that he couldn't find her. They'd all gone into a tailspin until Oliver got a text from Bruce saying he had an eye on the 'package' and they could all stand down. Oliver had wanted to fly to Gotham immediately but Felicity held him back. Alice hit every dive bar and underground club she could find, oblivious to her cowled shadow. She almost got jumped leaving the last one at four in the morning. Although she had more hand to hand training than any other girl her age, the alcohol in her system made her clumsy. She'd grumbled all the way back to Wayne Manor, and Bruce told her if she puked in the Batmobile she'd be cleaning it with a toothbrush. He put her to bed and called Oliver to tell him he could pick his daughter up in the afternoon.

*Oliver called Alice 'baby girl' well into adulthood. She never seemed to mind. Roy called her 'Al' from the day he'd met her. She pretended to be bothered by it but she wasn't. When Conner Kent slipped a wedding band on her finger he said she'd always be his Queen. Oliver sent glares across the aisle to Clark until Felicity elbowed him in the ribs and made him stop.

*Alice and Conner had been married for only six months when he finally proved to Oliver he was worthy of his baby girl. He'd saved her life by risking his own, leaving him close to death from kryptonite poisoning. With Clark unable to fly his son back to Metropolis, Felicity arranged for the Queen jet to do it for him. Alice, Lois, and Felicity went with Conner, getting him back to the city in time for Emil to flush the green rock from his system. When he was recovered Oliver shook his hand and called him son.

*Alice was twenty eight when she took over as CEO of Queen Consolidated, the same age Oliver had been. He was ready to retire from the public eye. He'd retired from being Green Arrow five years before, handing the hood over to another young upstart who had something to prove. Robbie.


End file.
